T. Sima Gunawan, Contributor, Jakarta – Ten years after the country declared war on graft, it is still common, if the numerous investigations into government officials accused of stealing stats money are any indication.
The campaign against corruption, collusion and nepotism – known by the acronym KKN began as part of the reform movement following the fall of long-time ruler Soeharto in May 1998.
But after four presidents, the anti-graft crusade only began to make an impact in 2004, following the formation the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
The KPK was established in 2003, as corruption gripped the country even tighter and was categorized as an extraordinary crime. But corruption is also an extraordinary disease which attacks human's minds and dignity, and results in poverty and misery for others.
Since its inception, the commission has brought two governors, two regents, a former minister, a former State Logistics Agency (Bulog) member, four General Elections Commission (KPU) members and chairman and two former ambassadors to court.
All were convicted. In the pipeline are three Bank Indonesia high-ranking officials, four House of Representatives lawmakers, a deputy governor, a regional secretary and a state prosecutor.
The nation's pledge to eradicate corruption was stipulated in the decree issued by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) following Soeharto's resignation on May 21, 1998 in response to mounting public pressure.
The post-Soeharto era has seen four presidents – B.J. Habibie, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, Megawati Soekarnoputri and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono – pledge to root out corruption in accordance with the spirit of the reform movement. They offered hope to people who have long dreamt of good governance and a clean government.
Things did not turn out as well as expected. Indonesia remains one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Corruption runs in the blood of many people, not only those in the administration, but also in legislative and judicial institutions.
Corruption is common among many government officials, from low-ranking personnel in subdistrict offices to regents and governors and cabinet ministers. A corrupt mentality is also found in the blood of many legislators in all administrative levels.
As for the judicial institutions, who has never heard of the "court mafia"? This term, coined in the 1980s, referred to the dirty practice in courts where people could buy justice from corrupt judges and prosecutors, as well as lawyers.
The House endorsed the Judiciary Power bill in 2004, which provides the Supreme Court with a monopoly to supervise judges. The revision was expected to curb judiciary corruption.
But the public are unable to erase the image of judicial institutions as corrupt, not while there are verdicts that injure one's sense of justice, ranging from light sentences to the acquittal of graft suspects.
Police and prosecutors are no better. As a matter of fact, in December 2007 Transparency International Indonesia research ranked the police as the most corrupt institution in the country, followed by the courts and the parliaments.
Prosecutors are expected to spearhead efforts to fight corruption. But what has happened has been the opposite.
In February this year the KPK arrested prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan for allegedly taking a Rp 6 billion (US$660,000) bribe from businesswoman Artalita Suryani, who was linked to tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim, once a suspect in a Bank Indonesia liquidity assistance (BLBI) fund graft case.
The arrest by the KPK was made two days after the Attorney General's Office dropped Sjamsul's graft case, which was handled by a team led by Urip.
After he was arrested, the KPK has continued to make headlines with the arrest of House legislator Al Amin Nasution in an alleged bribery case with Rp 71 million found in his car. It was alleged that Amin, who is from the United Development Party, received the bribe in connection to the conversion of protected forests in Bintan, Riau Islands.
The KPK, however, has not yet taken action against other legislators implicated in the case.
Earlier this year the KPK arrested outgoing Bank Indonesia (BI) governor Burhanuddin Abdullah and two other BI senior officials for their alleged part in the alleged misuse of Rp 100 billion in BI funds, used to hire lawyers and pay a number of lawmakers to smooth the deliberation of a revision of the BI law.
Former BI deputy governor Aulia Pohan, the father-in-law of President Yudhoyono's son, was believed to be involved, but the KPK has not touched him.
In several other cases, the anti-graft body also took no action against certain people who were said to be implicated. Worse, it has indicated its reluctance to take over the high-profile BLBI cases, which have caused trillions of rupiahs in state losses.
No wonder many have accused the KPK of being discriminative and half-hearted. Others even fear that the KPK will become a political tool to pave the way for Yudhoyono's possible reelection bid next year.
Last December, when legislators named Antasari Azhar, a former prosecutor, as the KPK's new chairman, the public was skeptical because of the tarnished image of prosecutors. Shortly after he was in office, the KPK was in the news with the arrests of at least 12 people, including some big names.
If the KPK is really committed to living up to its name, it must prove to the public that its measures do not discriminate against certain people.
With the presidential election around the corner, the KPK is vulnerable to becoming a political vehicle.
The fight against corruption still has a long way to go. There is a need for the public to guard the anti-graft drive so as to continue moving along the right track.