Susilo declares war on corruption
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared a national action plan against corruption on Thursday, urging all state officials to avoid family businesses and to ensure transparency in all state affairs.
On the same day, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) signed an agreement with all 33 provincial governors, under which they pledged to report their wealth and support the commission's efforts to curb corrupt practices in their regions.
"The level of corruption in our country is very alarming, and I urge every state official to lead by example in fighting corruption. We have to learn to be fair, honest and transparent in every action," Susilo said in his 45-minute speech marking the beginning of the nation-wide anti-corruption drive.
The country's national anti-corruption plan was spelled out in Presidential Instruction No. 5/2004 issued by the International Anti-Corruption Movement on Thursday.
Eradicating corruption has been Susilo's driving theme since the presidential election campaigns, and since taking office on Oct. 20, he has been trying to demonstrate his commitment to this endeavor.
The first major case was the recent detention of Aceh Governor Abdullah Puteh by the KPK. The President has agreed to suspend Puteh as soon as he sits as a defendant in court.
KPK chairman Taufiqurrahman Ruki said at the ceremony that the KPK had asked the President to suspend every state official as soon as they had been declared as suspects in any corruption case.
"We have all the legal weapons needed to end corrupt practices and we urge the President to suspend state officials who have been declared suspects in corruption cases," Taufiqurrahman said.
In his speech, Susilo underlined that his government would go all out in fighting corrupt practices and support every effort of the KPK.
Chairman of the Indonesian Transparency Societies (MTI) Sudirman Said, however, said that the President's tough words must be followed with concrete actions before the public became disillusioned with his anti-corruption initiatives.
"Every statement that the President has made is good, but it must be followed up with radical action against corruption as the public are skeptical about these big words," Sudirman said after attending the ceremony.
Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said that Susilo had just signed letters allowing police and prosecutors to question two governors, six House of Representatives members, four regents and two mayors.
The two governors were Banten's Djoko Munandar and West Nusa Tenggara's Lalu Serinata, legislators Zubair Nawawi, Faqih Chaeroni, Adi Warsita, Toifur, Dharmono Lawi and Ahmad Dahroni, regents of Kupang, Rote, South Barito, and Muara Enim and the mayors of Bengkulu and Singkawang.
Highlights of Presidential Instruction No. 5/2004
1. All state officials must report their wealth to the KPK immediately
2. Promotes transparency in public services to avoid illegal fees
3. Promotes the practice of "modest living" in all circumstances
4. Reviews the feasibility of trying out an e-procurement system that can be used collectively by state agencies.
5. Draws up national action plans to combat corruption for the 2004-2009 period
7. Optimizes investigation and prosecution of corruption cases to convict culprits and save state money.
8. Prevents and provides stern sanctions for abuse of power by prosecutors and police officers to assure law enforcement.