Stamping out corruption

Though it obviously takes a good deal more than a little paperwork to stamp out the evil of corruption in Indonesia, the current requirement for state officials, including members of the judiciary and legislature, to declare their wealth is a good start.

Evidence that such a feeling exists among Indonesians has been proved by comments made by members of the public regarding the minor formalities which accompanied distribution of the 30-page forms by members of KPKPN, the commission entrusted with the examination of state officials' wealth, to President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri last week.

Two hundred of the same forms were presented to chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Amien Rais on Tuesday, for completion by members of the Assembly. More will be distributed to members of the House of Representatives (DPR) in the coming days.

Of course, given the half-hearted anticorruption measures which have been introduced in the past, coupled with the even less enthusiastic acceptance of such measures by those affected, there is considerable room for skepticism regarding the success of these most recent measures.

This time, however, the public is invited to participate by reporting any cases of dubious wealth accumulation among state officials to the commission.

The current regulation requires that all state officials in significant positions declare their wealth by completing the forms, which will then be made available for the public to inspect by publication in the state's statutes book.

Members of the public are asked to report any discrepancies that may exist between the wealth declared and that which is observed to the KPKPN commission. As Jusuf Sjakir, who heads the commission, observed, the public will be able to detect any lies.

Where the discrepancy is based on fact, the commission will summon the official concerned for questioning. Where necessary, witnesses will be summoned to testify and, if a case is found to exist, the matter will be referred to the Attorney General's Office for further processing.

Members of the Supreme Advisory Council, the Supreme Court and the legislature are expected to have received their forms by Friday. All 35 members of the KPKPN commission have already submitted their completed forms, which are at present being examined by authorized public accountants. All forms must be returned a month after they are delivered.

It is obvious, however, that for the measure to be effective, the anticorruption law must place the burden of proof on the accused, which is not the case in the old law. The new anticorruption law, which is expected to contain such a provision, is currently being finalized by the legislature.

State officials, including senior officials at state-owned enterprises, found guilty of corruption can be dismissed from their jobs. What, however, if corruption is proved to have been committed by a legislator?

"In that case the sanction will be a moral one. But a moral sanction can be harder than a legal one because members of the legislature are expected to live by the rules they themselves have made," Jusuf explains.

However, if the government and the national legislature are serious in their intent to stamp out corruption once and for all, loopholes for corruption must not be allowed to remain in place.

It is time for Indonesians to start tackling the problem of corruption in earnest. After all, in the final analysis it is rampant corruption that brought down the New Order regime of former president Soeharto and triggered the many serious crises this nation is now finding itself in.