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Survey: Police most corrupt institution: TII
Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 01/22/2009 7:47 AM | Headlines
The police force is seen by the business community as the most bribe-riddled institution, while corruption at judicial institutions is the most costly, according to a survey revealed Wednesday.
The study was conducted by Transparency International Indonesia (TII) between September and December last year, and involved 3,841 respondents, mainly business executives.
Most respondents considered bribery necessary to smooth out bureaucracy, obtain business permits and contracts, and win favorable court decisions.
TII research and policy manager Frenky Simanjuntak said 48 percent of respondents admitted to paying an average of over Rp 2.2 million (US$200) to bribe police officers.
The police had also booked first place in TII’s 2007 survey, with a corruption perception index of 4.2.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Abubakar Nataprawira questioned the methodology used in the survey. “Of course we respect the results and are going to use it to improve ourselves, but the sole question is what methodology is used for the survey?” he said.
Coming second in terms of the occurrence of graft was the customs and excise offi ce, followed by the immigration offi ce and municipal administrations, according to the 2008 survey.
While courts rated better in the occurrence of bribes, the average bribe paid was Rp 112.4 million per deal — the highest value among the institutions in the survey. “The amount of money has provided us with a clear reason to doubt the judiciary’s willingness to reform and improve its performance,” Frenky said.
TII also listed Yogyakarta as the least corrupt city in Indonesia, followed by Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan and Banda Aceh in Aceh province, while Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara was rated the worst.
The survey also said out of 1,074 public servants who were asked whether they would accept bribes, only 58 percent said they were certain they would not accept one.
“Many civil servants are starting to feel insecure whenever we bring up programs that may require firm punishment if they fail to accomplish them,” said Wiharto of the State Ministry for Administrative Reforms.
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Kevin ml (not verified) — Thu, 02/05/2009 - 2:25pm
Soon to be no 1 is the supreme audit agency (BPK) which has a well known bandit as its chief, anwar nasution.
Kevin c (not verified) — Tue, 01/27/2009 - 2:49pm
to Bingung (not verified)....the problem is i honestly feel indonesians now feel that corruption is no big thing....as long as they corrupt more than they pay to others.
it's crazy...corruption is everywhere....even down to the rt. nobody bats an eye.....or complains when a mayor is in a 2M range rover!!
Ron (not verified) — Sat, 01/24/2009 - 5:12pm
Welcome to Indonesia, a country still thousand light years away to become more respectable. they IQ is lower than 50.so go figure.
Honest? (not verified) — Sat, 01/24/2009 - 4:15pm
bunch of hypocrites... the reasons that majority of indonesians (regardless of race, gender, so and so) who are able to speak/write fluent english has one way or another relate to a Close family member who has been involved in bribery, corruption, collusion, etc2... regardless of being forced or not.... am i right or am i correct?
David, Jakarta (not verified) — Sat, 01/24/2009 - 9:22am
I used to have a neighbour who was a middle-ranking police officer. His official salary was slightly less than mine. His wife did not work. Yet while I lived in a modest two-bedroomed house, his home had been extended into a sprawling mansion complete with two expensive German cars and a veritable army of domestic staff. I was always amazed how his salary seemed to stretch so far...
John wilfred (not verified) — Fri, 01/23/2009 - 3:47pm
to this date i never paid police bribes .
but i try to keep clean .
when i report i can feel they want something
and they never solved any reported issue .
but know from all around and see them each time they stop motors or cars lining their pockets .
the same goes for most other institutions in the country .
may be the next century will be corruption free
Ekyah (not verified) — Fri, 01/23/2009 - 11:32am
In 1 occasion I did not report to the police since I have experience the first time I report to the police as a victim, they started treating me as the suspect, and I ended up paying a lot of money close down the case.
I will never ever report anything to the police anymore since they are not much different than the crime perpetrator. They are racist also since they hate foreigners and find it normal to rip them of, foreigners are considered rich, and for that they act like you owe them money or something.
Free tip for the readers:
Be careful with lawyers also, many of them are not on your side, they will try to make your case a real long one and they will talk to the police chief and try to figure out how to get the most out of your case, in money that is.
Just accept whatever you lost or suffered, and continue with your live. Just don’t report to the police.
Yan hardiansyah (not verified) — Fri, 01/23/2009 - 7:56am
fight corruption in other to that town will be better and everyone can life with their happiness.
Bingung (not verified) — Fri, 01/23/2009 - 6:44am
What confuses me is why the population meekly accepts such disrespectful behaviour and continues to pay corruption. Are they fearful or selfish? I'd suggest a lot of both. I say impose the death penalty for the worst abusers.
JT (not verified) — Thu, 01/22/2009 - 10:56pm
My conclusion of those people is that they r short minded and only think about the present and not the future, sure their wage is laughable because of the tax money going to waste . "Oh bribes, I can take them no worries, so soon I can get a big house, good cars, better education for my son or daughter."
Simple, quick fix of their "own" problem. And unfortunately too many people in Indonesia only think about the "Quick fix" and not the long term. Hey Rome wasn't build in a day, one of the best examples are South Korea, 20-30 years ago they were nothing compared to Indonesia, and now they are one of the richest countries in the world, because they dig deep, and make sacrifices so that their future generation could live better.
So for goodness sake they should just stop thinking about themselves and make some sacrifice for their future generation.