The question of gifts

In the case of some government officials, gifts or grants are reaching astounding proportions in terms of the value involved. In others, they are worth monitoring because they were received mostly in the period 2000-2001. This phenomenon can be observed among the majority of members of the House of Representatives and cabinet ministers of former President Abdurrahman Wahid's government.

In the interest of our current fight against corruption and for honesty's sake, gifts or grants must be explained and their origins clarified. Gifts that are anonymous, or explained as coming from a "servant of God", for example, must be regarded as unlawful. In the case of gifts, however, the dubious enjoy the protection of the law. Articles of law exist that render gifts lawful.

Because of the dominance of corruptors in our bureaucracy and among the elite, we are now moving toward the acceptance of false standards of morality. Considering this kind of mind-set among members of the ruling elite, it is easy to understand why the House of Representatives opposed the government's proposal to introduce reversing the burden of proof in cases of corruption. If this were accepted, anyone receiving gifts would have to be able to prove that bribery is not involved. As things are at present, the burden of proving this belongs to the police and public prosecutors.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta