Heavy weight: Dozens of students, several of whom carry a pretend-wrapped-corpse symbolizing the death of justice during a recent protest in Semarang against the mafia in the Indonesian legal system. (JP/Suherdjoko)
Your comments on the question about great challenge in trying to fight against corruption as shown by the alleged criminalization of KPK suspended leaders and your experience in dealing with corrupt officials.
As a businessman working in Bali for 15 years, of course I have experienced problems with corrupt officials, and I still do regularly. In reality I have so many stories about it that it could fill a whole book - immigration, police, tax offices, the Investment Coordinating Body (BKPM).
Clearly, if you do not accept that system, you cannot do business in Indonesia. If you do not pay bribes, nothing can go ahead.
I've also experienced extortion twice by immigration officials, even if I am totally in line with immigration laws. I did not want to risk being blacklisted, as I was threatened, and lose everything, therefore I paid.
I bargained for four days, but I still had to pay Rp 25 million for them to stop harassing me. It happened two years ago.
Right now, I am still in trouble with taxes department but who knows, if I speak too much about it, my problems could become worse. When you see what can happen to the powerful people of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) who speak against corruption, imagine what could happen to a small and foreign businessman.
Jon
Denpasar
Yes I have experienced problems with corrupt officials. How do I deal with them? Sorry that I cannot tell you. First because there are too much of them. Second, most were my colleagues.
So how can I tell you? Sorry Sir. Oh yes most of them were highly ranked, with stars on their shoulders, professors, doctors, PhDs etc, and the more lowly ranked just follow the leaders.
E. Nurdin
Jakarta
Within the past five days I have been pulled over two times for driving on the shoulder of the toll road within 1 kilometer of the Cibubur toll road exit/entrance.
Each time I gave my license and asked/insisted on the ticket. Both times the police had ticket books but after discussing the situation with their partner they always told me to go along my way with no ticket.
As expatriates here driving myself I know I look like an easy target for corrupt officials but I refuse to play the game.
Bob M.
Jakarta
Not everyone knows that it was barely two weeks after the "historic" day when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) signed his Presidential Instruction No. 5/2004 regarding the speeding up of corruption eradication on Dec. 9, 2004, coinciding with the launching of the United Nations Campaign Against Corruption at its headquarters in New York.
That means it was only weeks after he resumed his first presidential term following his inauguration on Oct. 20, 2004.
The results of his instruction were tremendous, as many former ministers, lawmakers, governors, regents, mayors and even his own son's father-in-law were all sent to jail by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
The latter was given an important role in the instruction in the sense that the National Police chief and the Attorney General should cooperate with it in eradicating corruption.
Because of this, partly, his domestic as well as international standing was quite good, with the country's corruption perception index steadily improving. Many state officials have begun shunning graft practices causing Indonesia's economic condition stood firmly against the global financial meltdown.
However, soon after his second-term inauguration on October 20, his first month in office has been passed with the "complicated" rivalry between the KPK and the National Police and the Attorney General's Office.
The last two have made two KPK deputies, Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra Hamzah, suspects, charging them with extortion, abuse of power, and bribery while investigating businesmen for alleged graft, in return for stopping their investigations.
A presidential fact-finding team reported indications of fabrication in the police investigation against both men, and urged that the charges be dropped. These are in line with the intense demands by the public.
Among other factors, the team had reported suspicions of legal mafia practices, as indicated by the wiretapping of the conversation between businessman Anggodo Widjojo and "certain parties".
The expected response by SBY following the submission last week of the team's fact-finding results, of course, the public want SBY to demonstrate statemanship as he did during his first term in office.
Rusdi
Jakarta
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