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Jakarta Post

Seeing the big picture of corruption in Indonesia

In the throes of the day-to-day details of various corruption scandals, it’s good to step back and remind ourselves of the big picture

Robert Klitgaard (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, November 23, 2009

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Seeing the big picture  of corruption in Indonesia

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n the throes of the day-to-day details of various corruption scandals, it’s good to step back and remind ourselves of the big picture.

Why is corruption a problem?  We shouldn’t think of opposing corruption because we’re goody-goodies and corruption is wrong.  We fight corruption because it hurts what we most want to achieve in society.

Corruption slows economic progress.  My research shows that other things equal countries with more corruption have less investment, and each dollar of investment has less impact on growth.  Corruption hurts the poor, not the rich.

Daniel Kaufman and others have shown that bad governance has direct and negative effects on long-term outcomes such as infant mortality and educational attainment.  

Corruption undercuts democracy and decentralization.  As John T. Noonan has said, corruption and dictatorship are the two great sins of government.

Can anything be done about corruption?  The short answer is yes.  Around the world, you find cities and towns, ministries and agencies, and countries making progress in the fight against corruption. 

Not everywhere, to be sure, and even with the success stories progress is not overnight.  It’s never complete, and “recorruption” is always a threat.

Despite the success, it’s surprising how cynical people can become about corruption, to the point of fallacy.  Here is a logical fallacy you’ll recognize.  “Corruption has existed throughout history.  Every country has corruption, even the most advanced.  So, what can be done about corruption?  Nothing.”  

To see the fallacy clearly, substitute “disease” for “corruption.”  No one would conclude that nothing can be done about disease, that there is no use to have public health programs, doctors, hospitals, or medicine.  

Like disease, corruption comes in many forms, some cancerous, some mild.  Like disease, corruption can be widespread like a pandemic or occasional like the mumps.  Like disease, prevention is important, and so is treatment of diseased members of the body politic.

And now to the most important part of the big picture.  You are making progress in the long-term war against corruption.  And if you don’t lose heart, you can do even better.

Yes, you still have and will continue to have scandals ranging from bank bailouts to accusations and counter-accusations of corruption and being framed for corruption.  Yes, Indonesia is experiencing a classic consequence of decentralization, namely more corruption as new institutions and new actors vie for power and wealth.

But consider your progress since the demonstrations against corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) in the late 1990s.  You continue to have an engaged and committed civil society, which is admired around the world.  

Your press and media are staunchly against corruption.  Your anticorruption agency has achieved notable success, particularly in capturing “big fish.”  Your President is committed to anticorruption. 

And your many international friends have democracy and good governance in Indonesia as one of their focal points for assistance.

Few countries have your combination of civil society engagement, a free press opposed to corruption, an effective if still not strong enough anticorruption agency, a capable and committed President, and strong international support.  

How can Indonesia do even better?  As a long-time visitor to your country, but only a visitor, my advice can only be suggestive.  Drawing from the experience of other countries, I believe Indonesia’s continued progress depends on three things.

First, cooperation and effective action among the key agencies of government.  In no country does an anticorruption agency “do it alone.”  Success demands collaboration at the political level and the operational level among police, prosecutors, auditors (internal and external), the finance ministry, and the anticorruption agency.  A ministerial committee should track not only high-level cases but also preventive measures.

Second, anticorruption is only partly about enforcement.  It is also about prevention.  Hong Kong’s Independent Commission against Corruption was formed with three wings—enforcement, prevention, and popular participation.  The prevention wing contained management consultants, IT experts, and accountants, who worked with various ministries to analyze vulnerabilities to corruption—and then to help reduce those vulnerabilities.  

Third, civil society can be even more vital and effective.  In particular, the business community can do even more to help diagnose corrupt systems and then to take effective action.  Business people do not like to pay bribes or be extorted.  They may feel corruption is necessary to get a contract or a license or to avoid crippling red tape.  Businesses have it in their interest to move toward a different equilibrium, where corruption and influence-peddling are greatly reduced—and where businesses can spend their time innovating, cutting costs, and improving quality rather than figuring out how to avoid corruption or cultivate political connections.

Educational institutions are another key part of civil society.  Your schools and universities can do even more in the fight against corruption.  Indonesia can make education a corruption-free zone.  You can follow the example of Paramadina University, which requires all undergraduate students to take a course in anticorruption.  You can support research on anticorruption efforts, ranging from evaluations to prevention studies.

Indonesia is one of the most important countries in the world.  Large, predominantly Muslim, poor, and historically perceived to be quite corrupt, you face classic challenges of development.  The world is watching—and hoping you succeed.  As you create a peaceful, diverse Islamic society, a decentralized democracy, and a country where KKN are no longer “the way we do things,” you will be leaders in the twenty-first century.  


The writer is a University Professor at Claremont Graduate University and the author of eight books, including Controlling Corruption and High-Performance Government.  He has been called the world’s leading expert on corruption.

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