Rizky Amelia – The East Timor Anti-Corruption Commission on Wednesday visited the headquarters of Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission in Jakarta in hopes of fostering cooperation between the two agencies, one of its commissioners said.

"As a new institution, we are still learning while at the same time working to improve corruption eradication. We should not fight alone, we should cooperate," said Jose Antonio, a deputy commissioner of the East Timor antigraft agency.

Antonio said that there was merit in learning about eliminating corruption from the antigraft agency known as the KPK because there were similarities in the types of corruption within the two countries. He added that so far, his institution was already closely following the actions of the KPK through Indonesian television broadcasts that are aired in East Timor.

The KPK has gained international acknowledgement as a successful antigraft body, with many international institutions linking the country's drive to eradicate corruption to the commission's existence.

Many Indonesian television channels are able to be watched across East Timor, with residents of the tiny country reportedly enjoying Indonesian TV programs. Most East Timorese can speak the Indonesian language, a result of more than 25 years of Indonesian occupation.

Antonio said that as a fledgling country, East Timor has continued to build up its infrastructure and that many private companies from Indonesia were taking part in its development. "Things that can [hurt] the state [both] in Indonesia and in East Timor we should eradicate together," he said.

Antonio stated that a formal cooperation should be developed between the two countries and he added that his institution, set up just two years ago, has already been able to drag a couple of ministers to justice.

"We [recruit] from various backgrounds. There are former police members, engineers, journalists [and] accountants," he said, adding that his commission had the authority to recruit its own investigators."