House the most corrupt institution: Survey

The House of Representatives is regarded as the most corrupt institution in the country, due to a number of corruption cases implicating lawmakers, a survey by the Transparency International has revealed.
 
The survey, titled “Global Corruption Barometer 2009”, was conducted in 69 countries by interviewing a total of 73,132 respondents from October last year to March of this year. In Indonesia, the institution asked for opinions from 500 people living in Jakarta and Surabaya between Nov. 11 and Nov. 20 last year.
 
Respondents in 13 countries surveyed deemed private and business corporations as the most corrupt entities, while those in 11 countries considered the parliaments and judiciary institutions the most corrupt ones.
 
In Indonesia, the House was scored 4.4 in the survey, followed by the judiciary institution with 4.1. Political parties and state officials came third and fourth with 4.0 each, while the media were fifth with 2.3.

The scale ranges from for the most to the least corrupt, with 5 being the most corrupt index.
 
Transparency International Indonesia (TII) general secretary Teten Masduki said 74 percent of the respondents said the government had taken effective efforts to combat corruption.
 
“We believe the performance of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has influenced people’s optimistic perspective about the fight against graft,” he told a press conference Wednesday.

In response to the survey, lawmaker Gayus Lumbuun admitted the House had always been associated with corruption.
 
“I do not reject such opinion and we should work together to curb corruption practices in all institutions,” said Gayus, who leads the House’s disciplinary council. (ewd)