The 7-year-old Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has come under attack from government institutions that should have supported it. The future of clean government seems to be in limbo. But this has not dissuaded people with integrity, including top government officials, from fighting back.

These people are usually a mute minority, since it has always been a daunting challenge to stay clean within a corrupt system.

For developing countries, corruption often boils down to a philosophical question: Can power and clean morality sit side by side? Helie de Pourtales, a prominent French economist, found these two elements in the person of Widjojo Nitisastro. "I have always thought he has shown us that it is possible to be morally clean and in power," says Pourtales.

Pourtales is one of 69 prominent people, some of whom were heads of state or government, who wrote their impressions in a book about Widjojo Nitisastro (or "Widjojo" as he is affectionately known), in conjunction with his 70th birthday.

Known for his impeccable integrity, the economic czar of the New Order government who wielded enormous power during the three-decade rule of Soeharto, simply let others talk about him in Tributes for Widjojo Nitisastro by Friends from 27 Foreign Countries.

Vicente T. Paterno, a minister for the economy of the Philippines remarks: "Dr. Widjojo Nitisastro is a modest and humble person. He does not seek publicity, nor talk about his accomplishments. Yet I believe his friends who know him should be obliged to tell both his countrymen in particular and the world in general about his achievements."

Dr. Pius Okigbo of Harvard University, who has known Widjojo for more than 20 years says Widjojo was "quiet, self-effacing, keen and sharp with that final quality of humility".

Paterno notes "There are a number of developing countries especially in Asia that have experienced steady growth in the last two to three decades, but none match the success of Indonesia in achieving economic growth and in reducing poverty - a great distinction and a very worthy achievement.

"That success has been attributed to correct policies. But there is not enough mention of those who conceived, advocated and implemented the policies in the face of all odds in their way.

"Much of this economic success we ascribe to the foresight and consistent course of Indonesia's economic plans over two decades of Dr. Widjojo's cabinet stewardship, as well as of course the vision and support of its political leadership."

Gautam Kaji, an Indian economist with the World Bank, translates Paterno's description into figures.

"The progress in the past three decades has been enormous on almost any criterion. In 1996 the country's 200 million people passed the US$1,000 per-capita threshold *almost triple India's per-capita income*. With a per-capita average daily consumption of 2,750 calories, hunger is at worst a dim memory for most Indonesians."

Kaji also notes that Indonesia's per-capita income in 1966 was less than $50 (about a third of India's at that time).

While some contributing authors to this book praise Widjojo's work, others write lucid accounts of Widjojo's thoughts on the world economy that are still relevant today. This is where the greatest value of the book lies.

That Widjojo was the chief architect that turned Indonesia's economy around from bankruptcy in mid 1960s is widely-known in Indonesia, but less is known about Widjojo's great thought contribution for the betterment of the world economy.

A line from Layashi Yaker, an Algerian minister of commerce, about Widjojo makes this clear: "His struggle for global justice, equity and economic development has not ended and is unlikely to end."

Widjojo's piercing vision is mentioned by V.R. Panchamukhi, a prominent Indian economist: "It was way back in 1982, when he addressed the Davos Symposium giving his reflections on the emerging issues in the world economy, he had almost envisaged the various critical issues that were likely to take a place of prominence in the world debate on development strategies and international economic relations about a decade later." (p. 316)

The Indonesian public likes to link Widjojo to the so-called Berkeley Mafia, being the first among many economists trained at the University of California, Berkeley.

Derek Davies, a former editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review, astutely describes the challenges Widjojo and his colleagues faced on their return from the United States.

"Widjojo had to be content with the powerful remnant inheritance fanned into flames by Soekarnoist nationalism," he wrote. (p. 214)

In Davies' eyes, the mafia attribute was looked upon as a Machiavellian plot to subvert Indonesian economic independence.

"Such accusations, a wide-spread calumny that he was working against the country's strategic interests, must have been wounding," Davies says.

Guy Pauker of Harvard University rebuked the charge that the first generation of American-trained economists were captives of American economic doctrines.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," Guy writes.

Numerous accounts from Widjojo's Asian and African colleagues reveal him as a champion of developing countries' economies. Indonesia's economic progress during that period was seen as an economic lighthouse by the Third World.

Widjojo's obsession was recorded by Edward Masters, a former US ambassador to Indonesia. "Widjojo has an overriding interest in meeting the basic needs of the Indonesian people. His first priority was always insuring adequate food supplies followed closely by good health care, education and jobs."

Widjojo is also known as a figure who detests politics, and once came into the spotlight for arguing against the inclusion of human rights issues in the IGGI (Inter-Governmental Group on Indonesia) forums.

However, L.H.J.B. van Gorkom, a former Netherlands ambassador to Indonesia, notes that with Widjojo he "was never denied an opportunity to discuss questions of human rights, formally or informally".

In what almost sounds like an apology, Gorkom adds: "The Netherlands government, parliament and press are last and least entitled to lecture Indonesia on human rights. We denied Indonesia one of the most elementary human rights, the right to self-determination, we deported and imprisoned its leaders, we fought a colonial war to preserve our power and we left no viable economic, administrative and legal infrastructure when we departed in 1949."

There is always a risk of failing to grasp the complexity of problems when one looks into the past. During one visit to Widjojo's home in mid 1967, Stokes Tolbert found out that the family of the economic czar was raising chickens to complement their diet.

"On the table was the modest ration of rice to which he was entitled as civil servant," the former director of USAID in Jakarta writes.

It was a time when life was hard for Indonesian people because the government was on the verge of bankruptcy. For this reason it is almost inconceivable to compare Widjojo's life with the lives of our ministers today.

"Here is a man who, like any of the Economic Team, could have become rich by simply stretching out his hand and accepting a payoff from one of the many opportunists seeking concessions from his government," Tolbert says.

This book should serve as a source of inspiration for young Indonesians, showing them that they too can become towering global figures.

As an economist Widjojo may not be a poet, but his hard work, devotion and integrity, as captured in this book, is a beautiful poem in itself.

The Indonesian version of the book will be available toward the end of this year.

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