Unjustified levies

Unjustified levies

During World War II, when the Dutch anticipated an attack by
Japan on the Netherlands East Indies, they asked for help from
the Americans and other allies. The Dutch were disappointed,
however, because what arrived did not live up to their
expectations. The Dutch said that the help was too little and too
late.

When I look at the situation now in fighting corruption or
illegal levies, I see the same thing; we are doing too little and
too late. Illegal levies have existed for a long time. Ask any
businessperson who deals with the bureaucracy and you will get
the almost identical answer that nothing can be done if you do
not participate in this illegal activity. Anticipation is a must
because for businesspeople time is money. What they lose in
illegal levies they try to get it back from their customers. Are
these levies so secret that the government cannot detect them?

I am sure the government knows all about the levies. In his
state address of Aug. 16, 1976, the President said: "Government
officials are servants of the community and not the other way
around. They should not commercialize their position by only
performing their duties when they can expect something in return
or be reluctant to do their job when there is no prospect of
getting a reward."

The government's ongoing attempt to abolish illegal levies is
too late, because the President already warned the bureaucracy
about these levies 20 years ago.

But we must not forget that the President, in the same
address, also appealed to businesses: "To the business community,
I appeal not to give grease money in any form to the officials,
whose duty is to serve the people. Such gifts are poison, which
can destroy discipline and wreck the existing law and order and
the honesty of the officials."

If by chance a Don Quixote businessman courageously but
foolishly take it upon himself to stop paying these illegal
levies and do things according to the existing regulations, the
first thing he will be faced with is saying goodbye to business.

The government knows this, but because almost everybody is
involved, everything is kept quiet. The levy monster has become
bigger and fiercer. Now, on the initiative of the Minister of
Manpower, the government has started to take serious action
against its bureaucratic evils.

Why didn't the government fight the monster when it was still
a baby? At the beginning the government did something but it was
too little.

The President has reiterated that corruption is immoral and
destructive to development. When corruption is deep rooted,
however, it becomes a way of life and people try to justify it.

Some observers say that in developing countries corruption
might have a positive side, because it greases the wheels of the
economy, lubricates commerce and helps overcome red tape.

As Pancasila people, though, we cannot accept the theory that
the end justifies means. This smells like communism. So we should
observe religion and abide by the existing laws and regulations.
It is not a matter of what we get, but, more importantly, how we
get it.

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