Ina Parlina, Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) says 25 case studies on how officials swindled state funds have largely been ignored, showing institutional foot dragging in implementing reform.
The 2002 KPK Law orders the agency to examine the systems in place at government agencies and ministries, including regulatory policies and the management of funds and resources, to detect loopholes that pave the way for graft.
Once it detects loopholes, the KPK issues recommendations, usually in the form of action plans outlining reform policies, for state bodies to implement.
The KPK monitors a government body's progress in implementing its recommendations every three months. However, after eight years, the KPK said many government institutions have failed to implement its suggestions.
"Just two months ago, we reported the Religious Affairs Ministry and the National Land Agency [BPN] to the President for failure to comply with our recommendations," KPK deputy chairman M. Jasin told The Jakarta Post.
In 2005, the KPK scrutinized the land management system handled by the BPN and found indications of systemic graft.
In 2010, KPK identified 48 weaknesses in the Religious Affairs Ministry's management of the Muslim pilgrimage that might lead to corruption.
The weaknesses, among other things, concerning the interest accruing to haj applicants' installment deposits and a lack of transparency surrounding the public trust fund that holds excess interest not disbursed for pilgrimage services.
Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali denied allegations that the ministry misused the public trust fund, while the KPK insisted that it might take legal action against the ministry.
"Rest assured, if they keep ignoring our suggestions we will catch them red-handed and prosecute them," Jasin said.
The KPK arrested Mohammad Khudlori, the former head of the Surabaya Land Agency in East Java, for extortion in 2008. A year later, the Corruption Court sentenced a Customs and Excise official, Agus Sjafiin Pane, to four years' imprisonment for accepting bribes from importers.
KPK has found that almost every system was prone to corruption. "Almost every system we studied was problematic," Jasin said
The KPK has studied 25 systems at several government bodies, including the management of the haj, forestry licensing, taxation system and customs, as well as a recent study on social aid management by local administrations.
Most loopholes that the KPK found were related to overlapping regulations that led to abuses of power, a lack of transparency in budget management processes leading to bribery, a lack of professionalism and the low integrity of employees.
Jasin said that the KPK would continue to search for systems and processes connected to public services which might be prone to corruption.
Among the indicators of corruption are: Systems receiving public reports; institutions that handle the state budget, such as the Finance Ministry and institutions responsible for large budgets, such as the National Education Ministry and the Public Works Ministry.
"We also get hints of corruption from cases we handle, for example, the recent case of the misuse of local funds related to management of soccer teams," he said.
According to Jasin, the KPK would create teams to conduct thorough studies. The process would take around three to six months depending on the complexity of the system.
"The team will study it against the existing law; whether or not it violates the law. We will also conduct a survey against the service providers and the customers," he added.