Solutions to Corruption in Indonesia - Case Study Example

Writing Corruption in Indonesia Customer Tutor’s Name Customer’s Name Customer’s Grade Course 17th September 2010 Abstract Corruption is one of the problems which are identified as causing nations to stagnate in growth or stay to be third world nations. Corruption is rife in Indonesia, and in fact, the levels are rated high, and so, it is paramount that all players be involved in fighting this crime. This paper looks at this issue in depth and offers some suggested solutions as well as a theoretical framework to going about this. Introduction Corruption in Indonesia can only be termed as significantly present despite the many efforts by some government leaders and civic groups in fighting this vice. On the general, Indonesia has made great steps towards liberating the nation, especially in instilling democracy levels. However, what is present is meager considering the many other limiting factors to attaining full democracy. The kind of democracy present in Indonesia can be termed as low quality democracy or a dysfunctional one. In Indonesia, there is a robust Charter especially issues regarding Human Rights, Independent Judicial and the Constitutional Commissions. But the observers are of the view that these efforts are little and can actually lead to the low and dysfunctional democracy as stated above. The anti-corruption agencies and rights groups/civil groups have increased their efforts to hold government agencies and leaders, as well as other politicians to be accountable to the people who chose them and uphold integrity in their daily works in the government1. The kind of democracy which is present in Indonesia also includes free elections, Political party healthy competition, national and local level parliaments and the free press. However, all these achievements have been marred by the proliferation of politics of money as well as rampant and high level forms of corruption. The corruption is rife in this country such that it can actually be rated as being high more than Philippines and the Thailand nations. Some of the Choke points in the down trend of this nation include the crushing of the foreign debt and the neo-liberal structural adjustments which are imposed by the international institutions of financing. Also, part of this is the dictates of the global capital present in this country. Facets of Corruption in Indonesia 2Corruption in Indonesia has high levels which many term as horrendous and was ranked as close to top in corruption index in the world as by 1996. In other instances, the International Transparency had put it as the top in a field of 41 countries investigated and it was as though it was running very close to China and Vietnam in other instances. The two nations are said to be high in corruption and being ranked close to such nation’s just means that the corruption index in that country is very high. Some of the mentioned areas in which corruption thrives are in the national politics where the politically well-connected individuals could gain access to lucrative contracts and the licenses. This means that only the families of the well connected individuals can access high power in Indonesia. The type of corruption which has stamped its presence in this country includes the high ranked scandals and the petty ones which characterize the day to day activities like in the police force. 3Corruption in Indonesia is regarded as rife and an endemic in Asia as a whole, but the most affected of the Asian nations is Indonesia especially under the leadership of Suharto. He is characterized as a person of dubious distinction and this makes Indonesia as a country the most corrupt in the whole of Asian region for a number of years. Corruption in this country has permeated in all levels of governance in the society and to some extent, to the citizenry. Most of the Indonesian Citizens live below the poverty line due to the corruption levels in this nation and unless appropriate measures are taken, this could translate to watershed economic gains. It is argued that corruption exists in Indonesia as a matter of necessity because it has become a way of life for the leaders and other people in Indonesia. But there are efforts and pressure from both the international and the internal/regional players who are compelling the nation to adopt some strategies so as to fight this vice and maintain it to minimal levels if not ending it. Corruption in Indonesia has many facets and it needed strong determination to eliminate at least part of it. 4Some of the identified problems and the issues propelling the thriving of corruption in this country is the lack of enthusiasm for anti-corruption legislation by the concerned authority as well as long delays in the actual putting in place of some anti-corruption agencies (institutions). Soeharto is the president who is remembered to have let the vice develop to become big and uncontrollable. Even though those who came after him tried some little tricks to at least win it, it did not help to win what could be anticipated. They however made some real gains in the whole process which can be picked up by anyone coming and trying to fight it. However, one person who is always praised for laying the foundation for fighting this vice is president Yudhoyono as he activated the new anti-corruption agency so as to at least bring a series of high level officials to courts. In actual sense, some of them were found guilty of offences related to corruption. However, this president was found to have some shortcoming as his efforts for the anti-corruption campaign were seen to be selective and so the efforts were dependent on patronage ties. Corruption in Indonesia can actually inhibit the growth and investment so as to produce and it is viewed as the major determinant of the failure of growth of this nation. It is argued that fighting this vice is a critical and of paramount importance so that the country could at least rise from the status it is in and advances to manageable levels. The issue of corruption in public spending in Indonesia is an urgent one and tackling it right from the top and at the sub-national levels appears urgent so that there could be realized some minimal changes in the management. Some practices in Indonesia like audit report not being made public or at least accessible by the media are some of the reasons why corruption would continue to thrive in this country5. Bribes in companies in the Indonesia come about principally from the regulations, that is, the licenses and the levies, which are imposed by either the national government or the local governments’ officials. There are some indirect revenues which are generated by the officials in the form of bribes. Localities in the Indonesia nation are inhibited or hampered by the insufficient incomes from the formal tax. 6It is studied that corruption in Indonesia is widespread and very costly where firms in the country report spending on average more than 10% of costs going to the bribes while more than 10% of the management time is spent on smoothing business operations with the local officials. However, the degree of corruption in this country varies across the jurisdictions where some localities have corruption ranging from 56%. On average, corruption ranges from 56% to 31% in the localities as analyzed by a survey. Combating Corruption in Indonesia There are some valuable efforts which Indonesia has been practicing so as to at least bring this vice to some manageable levels. 7Fighting corruption in this country has emerged as a major issue and particularly efforts targeting the officials in some companies, government officials and other levels. As early as year 1998, there some anti-corruption agendas which were set, even though some were set to hoodwink people in the country especially those who were really agitating for some reforms. The anti-corruption crusades were majorly based on the economic and political fronts, and this is because those were the two areas which were said to be most affected by the high levels of corruption in the country. The first steps were to identify why corruption occurs and then what can prevent it. By defining it; for example, it is the use of public office for some private advantages, could help whoever is mandated to bring it to low levels know where to start rather than constructing abstracts. The anti-corruption strategies involve the setting of some forms of incentives, which are both negative and positive, so as to rule some abiding behavior by the agents. Strategies to reduce the corruption levels falls into three major categories namely: minimizing the scope for corruption by enhancing policy change, increasing the costs of corruption by using the external agencies especially the sanctioning ones, and coming up with systems which can induce restraints within the government and its organizations7. With such measures, corruption can only occur if the officials targeted defy these measures and the ruling person supports them; and as well when other monitoring agencies in the country like parliament fails to do its work. 8Indonesia in the year 1999 passes an anti-corruption legislation which included the creation of a commission for Eradication of Corruption (KPTPK). This law was however amended in the year 2001 so as to deal with issues which were not covered in the original legislation of the year 1999. Then, additional measures were taken in the year 2004 where the institution was further strengthened and this time round including greater autonomy of the institution. Another institution which was set up to deal with the issue of corruption was anti-corruption court and together with KPTPK was supposed to collaborate so as to make this whole effort bear fruits. 9There are some road maps set for the country to cope with the issue of corruption and even some have started to be productive. For example, in the year 2005, politics in this nation was redefined as on October 20, there was a first elected president which helped end election cycle which had threatened to turn the country into real anarchy. That is when some anti-corruption tactics were revived and everyone getting a real sense of the need to take part in this fight. As stated earlier, efforts in enhancing economic policies can fight this vice, and so, the new government embarked on the process of formulating the economic strategy and the president took a bold step to announce the government’s 100-day plan. Some of the issues highlighted were to fight insecurity and more prominently to fight corruption. The anti-corruption initiatives focused on minimizing chances of people taking advantage of the microeconomic sectors since it was the area which was generating money and so there was a room for corruption to thrive. The Way Forward and Theoretical Framework for Fighting Corruption Indonesia can actually come out of the woods if some strategies are put in fighting corruption. The efforts have to encompass all people so that the fight can be all grounded, that is, starting from the top to the bottom. 10Seeking support from the international players as well as the regional ones, and more so in partnering on development can actually set a strong framework to fighting bribery and corruption in general. Another way forward is to strengthen the anti-corruption units and for Indonesia, the anti-corruption agency and the anti-corruption court can help mitigate corruption risks, and the target should be in the procurement sectors, and other state companies. This is significant to eradicating it from some prone areas and which will set the framework for other efforts. Another strategy is to involve the private sector in the fighting this vice since, this sector is known to be a little bit responsible in the management of business. Private sectors are known to be managed on contract basis unlike in the government sectors and so, there is more accountability in them than in the public sector. 11The private sector is rarely considered as an area which can help fight the vice but it is a potential one, especially for emerging economies like Indonesia. On general, the private players are known to be composed of highly competent people and so, these individuals would be of high importance in offering their ideas on fighting the vice. Indonesia can utilize this private resource and see how best to manage the corruption issue. The consensus with the private can put some of the responsibility on the reforms in all levels of management. More particularly is how best to put in some structures and mechanisms especially in social organizations and it would be a matter of time before some reforms would start working. Theoretical framework can as well be used to fight corruption and as way of helping Indonesia come out of the problems it is facing. We hereby look at the E-Government concept in fighting the vice meaning it is using the electronic ways in this fight. 12The E-Government initiatives would be categorized into two major categories, namely the internal and the external approaches. The Internal concept would encompass; the government to government approach (G2G), the government to employee (G2E). On the other hand, the External approach would include the government to business approach (G2B) and the government to citizen approach (G2C). The four approaches define interactions through the use of the electronic method with the government being put as the major player in this. All interactions are seen to be engaging the government and so, the approach would be effective as it is all inclusive. Conclusion This paper has deeply analyzed the Indonesian case in regard to rampant corruption. This vice is a dangerous one and is potential to stagnating growth or even making economies collapse. Therefore, it is paramount that corruption in Indonesia be fought from all levels. The paper has looked at some of the causes which make this country be on the death point due to rampant corruption and the basis of the problem. The paper offers some ways in which corruption can be fought and all areas are seen to be involving everyone, whether from within the country or from the regional and international players. More importantly; the paper analysis the concept of E-Government which aims at involving all; that is, from the top government to the people on the ground, especially business people, the citizens and the employees. References ADB-OECD, 2008, Fighting bribery in Public Procurement in Asia and the Pacific, A Journal of ADB-OECD Anti-Corruption Initiatives for Asian-Pacific, Vol. 1 No 1, pp 193. Crouch, H 2010, Political Reform in Indonesia after Soeharto, ISEAS Publishing, Singapore Davidson, J 2007, Politics as usual on trial: Regional anti-corruption campaigns in Indonesia, A journal of Routledge-Taylor & Francis Group, Vol. 20 No 1, pp 75-99. Eliot, J & Capaldi, L 2001, Indonesia Handbook: The travel guide (3rd ed). 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