The other side of corruption
The other side of corruption
The issue of corruption has become the "prima donna" in almost
all newspapers in the past few days. Every day an article on
corruption is published, looking at the phenomenon from different
angles.
Corruption is a very interesting subject to write about as
there are several factors which lead to corruption; as a
consequence the therapy is also very complex. The Attorney
General said that corruption is a multi-dimensional phenomenon
and thus can only be tackled in a multi-dimensional way.
Another factor which makes corruption a popular subject is
that you can write about almost anything as the cause of this
disease and propose many steps as the therapy, and nobody can say
you are wrong precisely because it is such a complex subject.
The urge to write about corruption stems from the election
campaign when all participating parties condemned corruption and
promised to fight this social disease. All parties agreed that
corruption cannot be eradicated, but only minimized. Like
illness, corruption will always be with us.
If we do not act quickly and resolutely, corruption will be
deeply rooted and there will be the feeling that corruption is
accepted as part of our life. Later, people will try to find an
excuse for corruption and then justify it. Many observers believe
that corruption has become part of the Indonesian culture. Some
even went so far as to suggest that the fight against corruption
should be slowed down because it would help to establish a strong
middle class which can become the backbone of stability.
Professor Nathaniel said that corruption can introduce an
element of competition in what is otherwise a comfortably
monopolistic industry. Lots of discussions have been held to find
out whether corruption has slowed down development.
Yet some people say that corruption improves efficiency of the
bureaucracy and speeds up decision-making and execution of
regulations.
The result of a poll in Los Angeles reveals that bribery is
the lubricating oil of business. Making peace with the traffic
police in the street, is much cheaper than in a court session.
Handing over a thick envelope to the right official will
smooth the way and get things moving, while if we do not do that
everything is done according to the regulations, which takes a
long time. For a businessman time is money.
You will be surprised how a thick envelope can work wonders in
your business deal and make everybody happy. The businessman is
happy because his imported goods are cleared quickly from the
customs; the officials are happy because they can take good care
of their family and save up for their old age; the people are
happy because they can get what they need in the market.
In the Old Order era, I tried to point out that corruption
took a very serious turn and could do harm to our country. I
reported this to the First Deputy Prime Minister, but his
reaction was not what I had expected. He said: "You know that the
government cannot pay our employees enough, so we should be happy
that they can take care of themselves one way or the other".
Don't get me wrong. I am against corruption, but I only want
to point out the other side of corruption to avoid stress and
high blood pressure. There are always two sides to a coin, and I
am showing you the other side.
SOEGIH ARTO
Jakarta