Commitment 'vital to root out corruption'

Khairul Saleh ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Palembang   |  Fri, 10/24/2008 1:32 PM  |  The Archipelago

Corruption is widespread in Indonesia because poor commitment among state institutions hampers efforts to stamp it out, a minister told a regional meeting in Palembang, South Sumatra.

"As a state institution related directly to the mentality and behavior of state institutions, my office has constantly made efforts to curb corrupt practices by overseeing and joining forces with the legislative, executive and judicial institutions, as well as the media and the public," State Minister of Administrative Reforms Taufik Effendi said.

Taufik was addressing a regional coordinating meeting while evaluating the Sumatran provinces' implementation of Presidential Decree No. 5/2004 on the Acceleration of Corruption Eradication in Palembang.

He said these five elements of society should work together to achieve good governance.

He said the government remained intent in fighting corruption, despite the rise in Indonesia's Corruption Perception Index from 2.3 points last year to 2.6 points this year. Taufik said reforms in anti-graft measures should be increased and intensified due to the destructive impact corruption has on the nation.

Taufik said action in the future would have to be more severe. While eradication was once tackled through repressive measures, he said, now more innovative ways are required.

"Efforts to restrict individuals' illegal activities and opportunities to commit graft can only occur by establishing good governance, such as applying technology in providing services," he said.

"An example is paying taxes through banks, so taxpayers no longer come face to face with tax officers."

South Sumatra provincial secretary Musyrif Suwardi said the provincial administration had set up and developed a system of information coordination, monitoring and evaluation (dubbed Kormonev) in line with the implementation of the presidential decree.

He said the Kormonev working group was beneficial in fighting corruption, as it sped up the processing of officials' wealth reports at the provincial, regency and municipal levels.

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