Passing Pancasila course no guarantee of integrity

JAKARTA (JP): A minister admitted that passing the government- sponsored courses on the state-ideology of Pancasila is no guarantee of moral integrity or honesty.

Minister of Transmigration Siswono Yudohusodo said in a discussion with students in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, on Saturday that many people who have passed the Comprehension and Practical Application of Pancasila (P4) courses have turned out to be corrupt.

He did not go into details.

"Let's not blame the course itself, but the techniques with which the course is conducted," Siswono was quoted by Antara as saying.

Indonesian citizens, from university undergraduates to civil servants, are all required to take P4 upgrading courses.

"We cannot challenge the criticism that says Indonesia is a corrupt country. Instead, we should use it as a reminder to be careful, because corruption is really rampant here," Siswono said.

He cited Eddy Tansil, the convicted tycoon who defrauded the state of Rp 1.3 trillion and who recently slipped out of jail, as an example.

"Had the money that Tansil corrupted been distributed to small-scale entrepreneurs, each getting Rp 1 million (US$425), then 1.3 million people would have benefited from it," Siswono said.

International businesspeople view Indonesia as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. A recent Transparency International report, from the Berlin-based body devoted to fighting corruption, places Indonesia in the second most corrupt countries group,

Nigeria, followed by Pakistan and Kenya, are perceived as the world's most corrupt countries. Last year, the annual "Corruption Perceptions Index" listed Indonesia as the world's most corrupt country.

The 1996 index, based on 10 different surveys reflecting businesspeople's impressions and perceptions of 54 countries, attributes an "overall integrity rating" of zero to 10, with the most corrupt receiving the lowest figure and the least corrupt the highest.

On the bottom end of this scale, the index gave a score of 0.69 to Nigeria, 1.00 to Pakistan and 2.21 to Kenya, followed by Bangladesh (2.29), China (2.43) and Cameroon (2.46). They were followed by Egypt, Colombia, Uganda, the Philippines and Indonesia, occupying the 41st to 45th positions. (swe)