Sex, corruption are the order of the day

JAKARTA (JP): Sex scandals and corruption in government circles were two issues raised before State Minister of Administrative Reforms T.B. Silalahi during a hearing with Commission II of the House of Representatives (DPR) yesterday.

Silalahi said his office receives up to 100 letters of complaints every month about "moral crimes" allegedly committed by civil servants.

He said the cases include corruption, sex scandals and polygamous marriages without their supervisor's permission.

Legislator A.A. Oka Mahendra of Commission II during the hearing said the corruption cases mostly involve well-paid senior officials, the same ones who preach about the need for clean and respectable government.

Recently, the government failed to take action against a senior bureaucrat reported to have had extra-marital love affairs, he said.

The DPR member representing the government-backed Golkar group also questioned the absence of official reports on how commissions from development projects have been used.

Silalahi gave his assurances that the government will punish those who commit "moral crimes" if it has sufficient evidence.

He said all incoming complaints are processed by an advisory board that he chairs. Cases involving upper echelon officials are referred directly to the president, he added.

"The cases are not publicized because they would have serious psychological impacts on the families of the accused," he said.

The government is considering amending a 1980 regulation which sets the standard on civil servants' discipline to improve public services.

Silalahi said the decree needed adjusting under the present demand.

He acknowledged that corruption among well-paid senior officials is commonplace due to the amounts of money they need to maintain their affluent lifestyles.

For some officials, their demand for luxuries grows in line with their rising positions, he said.

The minister said the government will not increase the number of civil servants in the coming five years but will improve effectiveness of the existing personnel. (pan)