Understanding corruption in RI

By Hendardi

JAKARTA (JP): Discussions about corruption have re-surfaced recently. This issue became topical during general election campaigning for members of the House of Representatives and the regional legislative assemblies. The three contesting parties boasted anticorruption themes and pushed for the eradication of corrupt practices.

During a campaign speech, the general chairman of the functional group (Golkar), H. Harmoko, said the Edy Tansil case, involving a Rp 1.3 trillion loan scam, was uncovered by Golkar cadres. But he was reluctant to talk about a high-ranking official's informal note, allegedly linked to the scandal.

Late last year there was a lot of fuss about Minister of Mines and Energy IB Sudjana reportedly having ministry funds in his name. Rumor had it that Rp 280 billion in funds, stemming from a contractor's concession of 13.5 percent of coal mining at PT Batubara Bukit Asam (TABA), went into the minister's private bank account. Some people surmised that the sums were deposited on the basis of Presidential Decree No. 21/1993. The problem is that the decree does not stipulate that money should be deposited into the minister of mines and energy's bank account. His ministry was also hit by the Busang gold mine scandal.

Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave was once alleged to have channeled Rp 30 billion into his private bank account. This money came from the government's dividend profits earned from the public listing of state-owned domestic telecommunications company PT Telkom. Joop Ave argued that the money was used for the construction of the statue of Garuda Wisnu in Jimbaran, Bali. The government later abolished such private bank accounts in a policy called the July 1997 deregulatory policy.

The Indonesian Forum for Environment once queried the channeling of the forestry ministry's reforestation funds, amounting to Rp 400 billion, into the state-owned aircraft manufacturing industry PT IPTN. This interest-free loan was later converted into capital for the government's participation in IPTN.

It was later reported that the forestry ministry allocated a stand-by loan facility worth Rp 250 billion. Forestry minister Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo stressed that a presidential decree had been issued regulating the improvement of the financial position of IPTN. (Panji Masyarakat, July 7, 1997)

Other similar problems have cropped up. Members of the community were once stirred by fund-raising on the basis of a presidential instruction on backward villages. Now they are bothered by the establishment of partnership funds and a 2 percent levy to be imposed on those earning over Rp 100 million annually. Recently there has also been the problem of the sales of SEA Games stickers -- Rp 1,000 per sticker -- by the National Sports Council. Added to these are levies imposed on the businesspeople who manage to survive.

The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has revealed that the state's money has been manipulated in both central and regional government agencies. The agency has examined 338 cases. In the Ministry of Public Works alone, a case involving the accountability of over Rp 1.5 billion for a design review job has been uncovered. BPK can audit only 10 percent of the total Rp 101 trillion earmarked in the state's budget.

In the meantime, the Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) has detected many more cases. Last year the BPKP exposed over 15,000 cases which contributed to state losses totaling Rp 2.698 trillion. Unfortunately, BPKP could audit only 25 percent of the total number of cases, leaving the remainder untouched (Forum Keadilan, July 14, 1997)

After BPK and BPKP exposed irregularities in the state's finances, BPK suggested that the government revise the Corruption Law to combat misuse of the budget. BPK's chairman, JB Sumarlin, doubted the effectiveness of the provisions in Law No. 3/1971 to eradicate corruption-related criminal acts. It is therefore interesting to ponder whether corruption is simply a legal matter or whether it is more of a political problem.

Indonesia is endowed with abundant natural riches, including natural oil and gas, gold, copper, tin and iron deposits and forest produce such as timber and rattan. With all these resources, the New Order administration has built the country's economy and established political stability.

It is easy to guess that abundant riches concentrated in the hands of the government without well-thought-out plans and stringent discipline can easily be transferred into the hands of officials to accumulate their private wealth. When the government enjoyed windfall revenues from oil and gas, a program called "Industrialization to Substitute Import" (ISI) was devised. When all this "oil money" was spent on the program, ISI-based industries were still far from being competitive.

Government ministries considered as "wet" (involving a lot of money) have given rise to the nouveau riche. Businesspeople close to high-ranking officials can easily obtain loans, subsidies, licenses and even protection and domestic market monopoly from the government.

The relationship between officials and prospective businesspeople or those enjoying facilities and protection from the government is one of patronage. Certain government officials help facilitate and protect these businesspeople to build up their business empires. They obtain, in return for these position-related services, material incentives in the form of corporate shares, for example.

Patronage must be seen as the most significant corruptive relationship in the New Order state system. To ensure that this system of patronage runs smoothly, government officials often under such a system enforce loyalty into the ranks of the bureaucracy. It is here that the way is paved for nurturing a bureaucracy's corruptive character.

Therefore it is no wonder that in this country corruption is like an octopus whose tentacles are everywhere and at all levels: from the neighborhood association (RT) desks, for document processing, to those of high-ranking bureaucrats. Corruption is a plague that spreads endlessly. Even the Corruption Law is powerless to stop the plague.

As I have often stated, corruption cannot be viewed from the legal standpoint as simply a matter of legal violation. Corruption must be seen as a political and economic matter. If the movement for political reform cannot thrive and grow strong, corruption will continue to be rampant in Indonesia. Corruption develops at all bureaucratic levels.

So, the eradication of corruption cannot rely solely on the improvement of the Corruption Law. Political reform is needed to cleanse the New Order bureaucracy at all levels. This movement will not come as a gift from heaven but one we must be collectively fight for on Earth.

The writer is executive director of the Indonesian Human Rights and Legal Aid Association (PBHI) in Jakarta.

Window: If the movement for political reform cannot thrive and grow strong, corruption will continue to be rampant in Indonesia. Corruption develops at all bureaucratic levels.