Second only to Vietnam

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.