A new book has just been released on the prickly subject of corruption, shedding light on the challenges it poses the country from an academic viewpoint.
Korupsi Mengorupsi Indonesia — Sebab, Akibat dan Prospek Pemberantasan (Corruption Corrupts Indonesia — The Causes, Effects and the Prospects for Eradication) is a compilation of articles that purport to give the most comprehensive look at the problem of corruption in the country.
Published by Kompas Gramedia, the book is a collaboration involving Paramadina University in Jakarta, private company Recapital and the NGO Tiri Indonesia. The 1,149-page book comprises 31 articles written by people from different academic disciplines.
Tuesday’s launch of Corruption Corrupts comes on the heels of a revelation that socialite and
lobbyist Artalyta Suryani, currently serving time in prison for bribery, is enjoying privileges behind bars befitting a five-star hotel, and in the wake of a book that looks into the business activities of the President’s family.
“There is a dearth of literature on corruption in Indonesia, even though Indonesia has always ranked among the most corrupt nations in the world,” Wijayanto, who co-edited the book with Ridwan Zahrie, told the discussion accompanying Tuesday’s launch.
The book will become required reading for students at Paramadina University, which claims to be the only university in the world that makes the subject of corruption compulsory for all undergraduate students.
Former vice president Jusuf Kalla, in his keynote address at the launch, said corruption had become so pervasive in Indonesia that it was now trapped in this vicious cycle between corruption and poverty.
“Poverty begets corruption, and corruption begets poverty,” Kalla said.
“Since this has become a vicious cycle, you could start almost anywhere in tackling the problem.”
He distinguished between corruption at the policy level, which he said was the more serious problem, and at the implementation level, usually petty corruption such as bribing district officials for an
ID card.
Kalla was hopeful, however, that Indonesia could eradicate corruption, citing the success of Hong Kong, which at one time was notorious for its ingrained graft.
Paramadina University rector Anis Baswedan said corruption was so entrenched in Indonesia that one encountered it literally from cradle to grave, as people must pay bribes to secure a birth certificate as well as to get a death certificate.
“Corruption ultimately is a problem of integrity; the root of the problem is integrity,” he said.
