Say it isn't so
As the disillusioned young boy said to a disgraced baseball hero whose cheating was discovered, "Say it ain't so, Joe". Mr. President, please say it isn't true that your reform government is seriously entertaining the idea of giving yourselves salary increases that will send your salaries into the stratosphere, in comparison with what most of your people are trying to live on.
You were the President who said that reform must start at the top. You were the President who was thought to be the People's President, shunning the trappings of wealth accumulation and pretentious display that others devote themselves to. Now someone has tried to justify a salary for you and your ministers based on what government officials in Singapore and other countries earn, apparently forgetting to look also at what the average incomes for other workers in those countries are.
There is another, much more idealistic-sounding rationale given: better salaries are a prerequisite to clean government. Yes, they are. But will the twenty percent increase for the hundreds of thousands of lower level civil servants give them the wages they need so they will shun corruption? It will not. Billions of rupiah per month will now be diverted to the pockets of the government 'haves', instead of to the empty pockets of those now earning less than Rp 500,000 per month. The 300 or 400 percent increases proposed for those officials at the higher level will, for a long time to come, leave little in the budget to deal seriously with the problem of substandard incomes for those on the front lines of government service and corruption. The proposed salary plan cheats the lower level workers of what they deserve: a decent living wage to support a dignified lifestyle. Maybe those who are looking for a target for a jihad should look toward the finance ministry building; for this budget plan surely violates Islam's view of fair wealth allocation.
Yes, officials need to be fairly compensated and to enjoy a lifestyle that allows them to carry on their social duties properly. But it is hard to understand why any Cabinet minister needs Rp 44 million per month, especially when one considers all the other allowances and perks they receive. Unless they are trying to make up for lost opportunities for corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) that they previously enjoyed? Are we left to draw the conclusion that as the administration becomes more effective in rooting out corruption in high places, those in high places will be quick to compensate themselves with salary increases for what they can no longer skim off in improper income enhancements?
The President and Vice President may need or deserve more than Rp 33 million per month, but should they receive an income that will surely serve to insulate them from sensitivity to the hardships facing their people? A Cabinet minister needs more than Rp 5.6 million, but does he or she need Rp 44 million per month plus housing, a vehicle, etc.? Will those who proposed the new salaries kindly explain how they arrived at these interesting figures?
The final blow was to hear that the IMF has endorsed these outrageous raises. What collusive bargaining is at work here? "Mr. IMF Official, let us have better salaries and we will be more disposed to cooperate with you on the agreements you want and you will look great to your Washington bosses?" Colonial powers throughout history have known that the best way to subjugate a population is not to wage war, but to co-op local leaders by letting them share (to a controlled degree, of course) in the good fortune of their oppressors. How in the world can the IMF accept this travesty of fairness and financial irresponsibility, if indeed they did? Please, Mr. President, say that you and your government will not take this disgraceful step away from reform and toward the perpetuation of national inequity.
DONNA K. WOODWARD
Medan, North Sumatra