Understanding corruption in RI

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.