Editorial: DPR and VOC

Fri, 07/04/2008 11:08 AM  |  Opinion

The late anthropologist Koentjaraningrat, in his book Culture, Mentality and Development, observed that Indonesians of rank were forever seeking a quick profit.

He wrote about businessmen dreaming of "reaping maximum profits while the opportunity lasts", without effort and the laborious process of entrepreneurship.

And of bureaucrats hastily acquiring "high rank... by seeking short cuts without the willingness to sacrifice or face challenges necessary to obtain the required skills or knowledge".

Three decades after his seminal work was published, his analysis remains discouragingly relevant.

The latest bribery case, in which Reform Star Party lawmaker Bulyan Royan is implicated, is the latest in a series of scandals which have eroded people's trust in the political system in general, and the House of Representatives in particular.

Over the past four months, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has arrested five other legislators on suspicion of receiving bribes.

The House's own Disciplinary Committee has in the past 12 months reportedly found no less than 37 legislators allegedly took kickbacks.

It is no surprise that a report by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) indicates the public has lost faith in its national legislature.

Honesty and shame is apparently an uncommon trait within the "hallowed" halls of our assembly.

The prevalence of corruption is instead brazenly attributed to economic demands and party dues.

Legislative seats are whisked away from the public and handed over to business ventures. Corruption is no longer a function of need, but of greed.

"Poverty wants much," the ancient Roman author Publilius Syrus wrote, "but avarice everything."

While there is truth, as Koentjaraningrat suggested, that "corruptive practices" have become common in society, there is no reason to believe the "culture of corruption" is embedded or occurs naturally in national politics.

Underdevelopment may be a condition which breeds corruption, but corruption -- such as that practiced at the House -- will always lead to underdevelopment.

The privileged few, entrusted with the fate of the nation, should not succumb to the base instinct of profiteering which prevails in certain parts of society.

Such proclivities should never be allowed. Instead, legislators should prescribe a higher standard for society to admire and emulate.

There is perhaps little we can do in the immediate future to stem corruption in the present legislature.

We can prod the police and prosecutors, or become cheerleaders for the KPK and help expose malpractice.

Nevertheless there is more we can do for the future. With general elections less than a year away, there is still hope of making the next term better than the past five years.

When shame and dignity are no longer secure parameters, we the people, the proprietors of democracy, should show our disgust at the ballot box.

Remember the names, recount the faces, note the political parties. No second chance should be forthcoming for the corrupt.

Greater transparency and accountability are principles that, if implemented, can curb corruption.

But we must make our voices heard and demands felt, either by supporting the work of the KPK, rejecting favoritism in the bureaucracy or simply demanding oversight on public issues.

Neither should the private sector be left to its own vices.

Even the most pious man cannot remain chaste when dark angels circle in dizzying seduction.

Codes of conduct in good corporate governance have an invaluable impact on corruption. Every entrepreneur must regard kickbacks as a malignant cost rather than an investment.

The House is fast scraping the bottom of the barrel, and is arguably as deplorable as the ruthless Dutch East India Company (VOC) which governed the archipelago in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The VOC ruled with impunity, exploiting the hard work of their Indonesian subjects. Their demise came after fending off a series of resistance struggles and, more importantly, because they became bankrupt.

The desire for quick profits meant internal corruption was so widespread and operations so inefficient, they outweighed the massive haul garnered from exploiting the Indonesian islands.

Beware, respected legislators: your fate and reputation cross a common destiny.

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