Second only to Vietnam

It hardly surprises anyone anymore that, once again, Indonesia finds itself placed in the position of the second most corrupt country -- second only to Vietnam -- on a list of Asian countries published by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) group over the weekend. It is hardly a consolation that with a score of 9.50 out of 10, this country is not so much worse than India, which scored 9.25, and the Philippines with a score of 9.

Neither is it very surprising that Indonesia's tiny but efficiently run neighbor, Singapore, took the top honor of coming out the "cleanest" in the survey, followed by Hong Kong and Japan, Thailand, China, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan. Thailand came out a little better than the Philippines with a score of 8.55, China with 7.88, South Korea with 7, and Malaysia and Taiwan both with a score of 6.

The PERC report bases its findings on polls taken among some 700 expatriate business players operating in 12 Asian countries. The general perception that exists among them, PERC notes, is very clear: corruption is still a serious problem in almost all the countries in which the polls were taken. It may be interesting to note some of the comments that are included in the PERC report.

Regarding Thailand and the Philippines, for example, PERC comments that both those countries, though still beset by serious corruption problems, are seen to be working on bringing about systemic changes toward improvement -- with some tangible results. With regard to the Philippines, the agency said that while President Estrada may be gone, it remained to be seen to what degree the country had progressed in its fight against corruption.

Vietnam and China, the report notes, were similarly beset by corruption. In both these countries, though, their governments were willing to acknowledge that corruption was extensive and that serious efforts had to be made to fight it.

In a third category of countries -- which the PERC report conspicuously refrains from mentioning, the authorities refuse to acknowledge that corruption exists and even punish their critics. While Indonesia is not specifically mentioned in this context, it is easy to guess in which category it belongs.

It must be admitted that in the 18 months since its installation, the administration of President Abdurrahman Wahid has done little that is tangible in fighting corruption in this country. Allegations are often heard that corruption under the present administration may indeed be worse than under that of former president Soeharto.

Whether this is really so is better left to our legislators and investigators to determine. As far as the public is concerned, however, the many allegations of corruption that are left dangling or unanswered are easily perceived as confirmation that corruption is still rampant despite the reform movement

The cases that have become known as Bruneigate and Bulogate are still waiting for answers. A handful of tycoons -- former cronies of ex-president Soeharto -- have remained untouchable due to the intervention of President Abdurrahman Wahid on the grounds that their contribution to the country's economic recovery is needed.

In the light of all this, the latest PERC report should serve as a reminder to the nation that much still remains to be done before Indonesia can even think of starting on the path of economic recovery. Corruption is a national blight that must be eradicated with all the force that we can muster. Protecting it may benefit a few in the short term. In the longer term it will help no one.