Indonesian Politics Remain Graft Ridden
Former Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng outside the Corruption Eradication Commission headquarters in Jakarta on July 19, 2013. (JG Photo/Yudhi Sukma Wijaya)
Jakarta. Sixteen years ago, Indonesians of all stripes took to the streets to demand the ousting of former President Suharto, the dictator who had ruled the country for more than 30 years.
The cry of Reformasi echoed across the archipelago as young and old took to the streets in the hope of effecting some real change to their lives and the country.
Call it naive, and with hindsight no doubt some will, but there was a real hope a new government could bring change.
But while the dictator was replaced by a democratic government and Indonesians can now vote directly for a president, the rampant corruption that blighted the Suharto years remains.
Government positions, be they lowly district officials to ministers responsible for massive budgets and national development, are seen as an easy way to feather one's nest at the expense of others.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will step down in July after serving an unbroken 10 years as a democratically elected president. In itself, that is progress and something to remember.
However, the era will also be remembered for the dozens of officials who have been caught with their hands in the nation's cookie jar.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK )has named several top politicians as suspects in graft cases. And as you go down the greasy pole of Indonesian politics, more and more have been called to give their evidence or explain their wealth.
Trillions of rupiah have been lost, money that could have been used to build new roads, improve the schools or provide better health care to the regions where people lack the cash to visit a doctor in Singapore or Malaysia.
Political Hall of Shame
Andi Mallarangeng, the former minister of sports and youth affairs for instance, earned the dubious honor of being the first active minister to be locked up after he was detained by the KPK over his alleged involvement in the graft-tainted Hambalang sports center construction project.
Last week, the KPK named Hadi Poernomo, former Finance Ministry director general of taxation, as a suspect in a tax case involving Bank Central Asia, only a day after he stepped down from his position as the head of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).
The KPK claims he illegally overturned a decision made by a subordinate who had rejected BCA's appeal against a Rp 375 billion ($32.6 million) tax bill.
The chairman of the nation's anti-graft agency said that top officials were susceptible to corruption but he assured them the KPK was on their case.
Highlighted graft cases
The KPK has recently named the director of the Home Affairs Ministry, Sugiharto, as a suspect in the e-KTP procurement project. KPK spokesman Johan Budi this month also stated that the minister, Gamawan Fauzi, would be summoned as a witness if needed for questioning.
The KPK also says that former Health Minister Siti Fadillah Supari was involved in a scheme to mark up the price of crucial medical equipment during the height of Indonesia's bird flu epidemic in 2006-07.
As for former Forestry Minister M.S. Kaban, the KPK has filed for a travel ban on him as the commission regards his risk of flight to be high.
He is allegedly involved in the Integrated Radio Communication System (SKRT) graft case which also involved the owner of Masaro Radiokom, Anggoro Widjojo, who allegedly bribed a number of officials to soothe the SKRT's budget proposal in 2007. In the case, the KPK had summoned M.S. Kaban as a witness.
Another minister involved in a graft case is Suswono, from the Islamic Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) who was named in an indictment against graft suspect Anggoro Widjojo.
In their indictment, prosecutors from the KPK alleged that Suswono, who back then served on the legislative oversight committee on forestry and agriculture, took a Rp 50 million bribe to approve the procurement of the equipment.
Then we have Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Jero Wacik, who was questioned as a witness in the KPK investigation into graft at oil and gas regulator SKKMigas.
The case, in which the disgraced head of SKKMigas Rudi Rubiandini was named a suspect, has been described as one of the biggest corruption cases in history.
Tempting position
Zainal Arifin Mochtar from Gadjah Mada University's Anti-Corruption Study Center (Pukat UGM) said a ministerial office is prone to graft due to the absence of strong regulations to limit their authority in carrying out government affairs.
"There is no law which stipulates the parameters of ministers' or other top officials' authority," he said.
"This loophole then becomes a free-for-all with politicians and their officials basically able to do what they want. They can make up their own rules for their department, they can delegate tasks as they see fit and they can sign contracts with whoever takes their fancy," he said.
"In addition, the lack of transparency and accountability makes it easier for top officials to act with impunity," he said.
Zainal added that the ministers who come from a party — as opposed to technocrats brought in from elsewhere — were especially liable to graft as they, in effect, served two masters; their party and their department.
Decisions that should be taken in the public interest have thus been hijacked by both partisan influences and sheer greed.
"Many top officials are political officials closely linked to the upper echelons of a political party. It is very difficult for them to act rationally or to divide their official responsibilities from their responsibility to the political party machinery," he said.
Priority list
Ade Irawan, a researcher with Indonesia Corruption Watch, said that besides investigating corruption cases among government officials, the KPK should prioritize ministers from the parties in its investigations.
"Within the government, the top officials have direct access to planning and executing the budget and this is where their commitment to the voter becomes blurred," he said.
"It is important to investigate the officials, because they often abuse their power for political interest," he said.
Ade added that before the law, no matter how high the position of the person, if they commit acts in violation of the law and disrupting the country's interest, they should be immediately brought before the courts.
"Before the law, all the citizens are equal. There is no discrimination. If you are proved to be committing crimes you have to face the law," he said.
Political talks
Political analyst Arbi Sanit from the University of Indonesia said a position as minister would be always be open to political meddling all the while coalitions were needed to form a government.
"Small parties have inordinate power beyond their actual votes when it comes to forming a government and can make, and get away with, outlandish demands," he said. "The president then feels beholden to his coalition partners who have allowed him to take the top job so we often see incompetent ministers who have only got their jobs because of the political horse-trading that comes with coalition forming."
Ideally, says Yunarto Wijaya, the executive director of consultancy Charta Politika, ministers should not come from parties but should be appointed based on their competence, ability and experience.
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