Adianto P. Simamora and Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – As the seventh-most corrupt country in the world, based on the Global Corruption Barometer 2009 survey by Transparency International, government of Indonesia is struggling to fight corruption – whoever the president is.
With the presidential election a month away, all three presidential candidates have begun to offer their platforms in overcoming the already-rooted problem. Incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's camp boasted of the present administration's efforts in fighting corruption.
"We've seen regents, governors, generals and [former] ministers sent to jail during SBY's tenure. Every day we see the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK] handle new cases," Yudhoyono's Democratic Party deputy chairman Andi Mallarangeng said.
Among those being tried for graft includes Yudhoyono's son's father-in-law, former Bank Indonesia deputy governor Aulia Pohan. Prosecutors have demanded a four-year jail term for Aulia due to his alleged involvement in the illegal distribution of Rp 100 billion (US$9.9 million) from the central bank's Indonesian Banking Development Foundation (YPPI) in 2003.
Many, however, criticized Yudhoyono's success, slamming the KPK for being discriminatory in probing corruption cases allegedly involving his ministers.
Forestry Minister MS Kaban and State Minister for the National Development Planning Paskah Suzetta are among those implicated in graft cases. They were summoned to the Corruption Court as witnesses but still walked free from the cases.
Another candidate, incumbent Vice President Jusuf Kalla, has offered an "integrated solution to clean bureaucracy and improve public welfare through better education and economic condition".
"Kalla will come with a sustainable corruption eradication concept by upholding law and raising people's welfare. If the gap between the rich and the poor remains wide, the antigraft efforts will be slow," Kalla's campaign team member Poempida Hidayutullah said.
Simplifying the overlapping institutions is expected to make the fight against graft work effectively.
Another Kalla's campaign team member Rully Chairul Azwar said the Golkar Party chairman would focus on big corruption cases, regardless of political links to the cases.
Gayus Lumbuun of Megawati Soekarnoputri's campaign team highlighted the former president's success in establishing the KPK.
However, the public still also remembered that Megawati had appointed MA Rahman as the attorney general. Rahman was later implicated in a graft case, especially with his ownerships over properties in several areas such as Cinere and Bekasi. He remains free from investigations.
Megawati was also well-remembered for her policy to "wipe out" the Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) that had caused Rp 600 trillion of state losses, even though the policy to exonerate former bankers was part of a scheme agreed by the government and the International Monetary Fund.
On the more urgent issue of the Corruption Court bill, the three candidates could only promise to push lawmakers to complete it before their tenure ends in October.
Legislators promised earlier to pass the bill in August, despite criticism over its slow deliberation. They are focusing on three major topics in the bill: The composition of the panel of judges, the procedural code and the disparities between the Attorney General's Office and the KPK. Should the House fail to meet the Dec. 19, 2009 deadline, the government needs to draft a regulation-in-lieu-of-law.
Corruption eradication
Statements:
"Now people are hunted down because of corruption, but the cause of the problem has never been touched. It's actually a matter of management." – Megawati Soekarnoputri, March 2008
"The people will never believe all the thoughts, energy and time dedicated by the state to improve public welfare when officials are busy taking care of their own businesses." – Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, June 2009
"The government is committed to ensuring that whoever is found guilty of corruption will face the law... This is proof of our progress in combating corruption, and we value the efforts by the Corruption Eradication Committee (KPK). In the past there was no such practice as taping phone conversations." Jusuf Kalla, June 2008
Track records:
The Attorney General's Office under then President Megawati's administration dismisses the government's antigraft task force – August 2001 As president Megawati signed a presidential decree on the leaders of the new Corruption Eradication Committee (KPK) – December 2003.
Megawati announces the controversial "release and discharge" policy which exonerated former bank owners who owed billions of dollars in debt, after they received some US$16 billion in government liquidity loans to help the banks survive in the wake of the late 1990s financial crisis. – January , 2003
SBY unveiled a plan to issue a government regulation-in-lieu-of-law should lawmakers fail to pass a corruption court bill by the end of this year. – March 2009
"If a citizen breaks the law because of his ignorance, we are guilty as well. Worse, [we] let them be trapped instead of just reminding them." – SBY, in response to the KPK's arrest of several suspects allegedly caught red-handed in the act of bribery. – April 2008
Vice President Kalla said that corruption eradication has made state officials nervous, causing delay in taking decisions. "Strict measures of KPK can also result in uneasiness." – December 2006
Kalla defended the embattled attorney general Hendarman Supandji as critics clamored for his resignation over an embarrassing corruption scandal involving top prosecutors.
"In my experience, among all the attorney generals, he's the one with the best level of professionalism and knowledge," he said. - June 2008
[Dicky Christanto contributed to the story.]