Plan to sign UN anticorruption pact applauded

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

An observer has welcomed the government's plan to sign the United Nations Convention against Corruption, saying that only with a strong commitment to implementing the pact will it possible to significantly improve the country's sluggish drive against widespread corruption.

Frans Hendra Winarta, a member of the National Law Commission (KHN), said on Thursday that the adoption of the convention would support the country's campaign to reduce corruption.

"This convention does not provide for an international tribunal for corruptors. However, it offers an opportunity to limit the room for corruptors to flee justice and to ensure that the money they stole can be returned to their home countries," he said.

The new convention, which covers corruption in both the private and public sectors, highlights the requirement of members states to return assets obtained through corruption to the country from which they were stolen.

Frans said this provision was important as corrupt officials would in the future find fewer ways to hide their illicit gains.

"The country of origin of a corruptor may ask the country where the corruptor launders his money to recover its funds. At the same time, it may also ask the other country to extradite the corruptor back home," he said.

The request must be backed up by sufficient, such as documents on the prosecution of the corruptor from the court and investigation reports from the police or prosecutors.

The convention also obliges member states to periodically evaluate their legal instruments and administrative requirements to ensure their effectiveness in preventing corruption.

A member state must also have an independent body to prevent corruption and guarantee that this body and the public are given access to information.

According to the convention, a member state must criminalize the most prevalent forms of corruption -- such as giving, offering or receiving bribes -- in both the public and private sectors.

"In fact, Indonesia has adequate regulations and laws against corruption as required by the convention. What we need is commitment and hard work in implementing these," Frans said.

Indonesia is expected to sign the convention next month in Mexico and ratify it next year. The convention will come into effect 90 days after 30 member states have signed it.

Corruption is all-pervasive in Indonesia, despite the reform movement that followed the downfall of president Soeharto in 1997. One of the targets of this movement was corruption.

However, the reform movement was in the end hijacked by the same corrupt politicians it was originally targeted at.

Consequently, no significant results have been achieved to date. Recently, the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked Indonesia at 60 (out of a total 102 countries surveyed) in terms of business competitiveness.

According to the forum, rampant corruption and an ineffective bureaucracy are the two most important factors behind the country's low business competitiveness rating.