Vincent Lingga – It has indeed not been without strong reason that national and international surveys have consistently singled out the National Police as the most corrupt public institution in Indonesia – which is also internationally perceived to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world.
Headline stories roared over the past 10 days about how 31-year-old Gayus Tambunan, a former junior tax official who is supposed to be under police detention while facing trial on corruption charges, somehow managed to enjoy a vacation in Bali with his family early this month. The incident underscored just how systemic corruption is within Indonesia's justice system.
More flabbergasting still was the bitter fact that had it not been for the Kompas daily photographer who exposed Gayus vacationing in Bali, the scandal over how Gayus had bribed his way out of jail almost 70 times since July would never have been investigated by the police.
It is really an embarrassment for the nation, which President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono proudly represented at the summit meeting of the Group of 20 industrialized countries and emerging economies last week.
The police remained in self-denial for about 10 days after the Gayus photo was widely circulated. The police began a serious investigation only after Gayus himself admitted in court on Monday that he was the man in the wig caught by the Kompas photographer at the Commonwealth Bank international tennis tournament at the Westin Hotel on Nov. 5.
Eventual investigations of Gayus and the police officers in charge of overseeing his detention uncovered that Gayus had spent almost US$40,000 since July on bribing his way out of police detention – 68 times!
Where could Gayus have accessed so much money after his ill-gotten wealth, estimated at over Rp 100 billion ($11 million), had reportedly been seized by the police as evidence of corruption?.
This is only one of the troubling questions around the Gayus case.
Gayus' escapades beyond his maximum security status in a Depok prison are strong a verification that his case is not simply about corruption related to tax cases, but involves an integrated faction of a larger judicial mafia involving almost all components of the justice system.
The overall manner in which the police have handled the Gayus case since April has raised many other big questions.
Even though Gayus admitted in court to having obtained the bulk of his ill-gotten money from subsidiaries of Bumi Resources, which is partly owned by the family of Golkar party chairman Aburizal Bakrie, the police have never followed up on his testimony.
Gayus revealed in his testimony he received the money from the Bumi Resources group, the country's largest coal producer, in return for his assistance in clearing the company's tax problems.
It was again a highly questionable coincidence that Aburizal Bakrie, who runs the secretariat of Yudhoyono's political coalition, was also in Bali at that time while Gayus and his extended family enjoyed a holiday on the Island of the Gods.
The ease with which detainees and prisoners have been allowed to leave prison indicates that the justice system is corrupt to its very core.
Only a few months ago, members of the President's Judiciary Mafia Taskforce uncovered, during a late night surprise visit to the women's prison in Klender, Jakarta, how Artalyta Suryani, who is serving a four and a half year sentence after being found guilty of corruption, lived lavishly in her cell with all the comforts of a luxury hotel room complete with modern perks and amenities.
The explosion of the latest scandal once again shows how almost nothing has changed for the better in the nation's prison institutions. Punishing corruptors and other criminals through the justice system could not have a powerful deterrent impact if prisoners can easily leave their cells anytime they like.
Look at how Gayus did not show any remorse on Monday when he admitted to bribing prison officials to take leave outside jail almost 70 times. He simply said because other detainees regularly bribed their way out of detention, he also had the right to do so with his money.
Gayus' Bali getaway added to the frustration of the already-disillusioned public, who are more convinced than ever that those with a lot of money can evade the arms of the justice system. If they are unfortunate enough to get caught and jailed, they could still live comfortably in prison, as Artalyta did, and take vacations outside their cells as they please.
Under this pretext, corruption then is simply a matter of a business calculation, estimating whether the money likely to be gotten from crime is significant enough to pay the bribes needed to evade justice or create a comfortable life in prison.
Corruption has been central to the legal uncertainty which has become one of the greatest barriers to foreign direct investment in Indonesia.
Indonesia has the main elements for success, such as political and economic stability, democracy, a large population and rich natural resources, all of which could be harnessed to develop an economic and political powerhouse.But we would never make it to the league of developed countries if the government fails to make steady, yet incremental, progress in the fight against corruption.
Yudhoyono did put corruption eradication on top of his working agenda, but he failed to make a substantial dent on systemic corruption, despite the establishment of the Corruption Eradication Commission and the Corruption Court.