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or whistle-blowers in Indonesia, the cost of telling the truth is exorbitant.

Despite their crucial roles in revealing corruption, whistle-blowers must be ready to sacrifice their property, comfort, security, and even their lives.

Just two weeks ago, Suharno, the head of a farmers and fishers group in Banjarsari Wetan, Madiun, East Java, who became a whistle-blower in an alleged village budget corruption case, was stabbed by unknown assailants for reporting the corruption along with a local non-governmental organization.

In another recent incident, Siami, a housewife and mother from Surabaya, East Java, was forced to move from her home after she reported a national exam cheating racket in her son’s class at state elementary school SDN 2 in Gadel.

Another whistle-blower, House of Representatives member Wa Ode Nurhayati, faced threats and accusations of corruption for revealing rampant corruption among house members. The House ethics council even asked her to resign.

Witness and Victim Protection Agency head Abdul Haris Semendawai said on Wednesday during a discussion on whistle-blowing in Jakarta that Indonesia did not provide protection for such brave individuals.

He cited the case of Agus Condro, a politician embroiled in a bribery scandal.

“Agus Condro confessed to accepting a bribe in the central bank case. He took the case to the Corruption Eradication Commission and gave the money back.

He has been very cooperative, but we didn’t give him a big enough reward for whistle-blowing,” he said.

Semendawai said that Agus, who was sentenced to 15 months in prison, deserved a shorter verdict due to his role in revealing the massive corruption case implicating dozens of house members.

“We tried to recommend leniency to the judges. We considered eight months in prison as fair for him, but the judges didn’t accept our legal opinion,” he said.

Former top police officer Susno Duadji was a bit luckier as the judges accepted the agency’s recommendation for leniency, Semendawai said.

“The prosecutors demanded up to seven years in prison, but we convinced the judges that Susno deserved a reward for his testimony on tax-mafia corruption. The judges accepted our opinion and sentenced Susno to 3.5 years instead of seven,” he said.

Deputy coordinator Emerson Yuntho of Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said the agency did not have enough authority.

“If the government wants it to be an effective witness protection agency, it should provide the agency with a strong legal basis,” he said.

The ICW recorded at least 61 cases of violence against whistle-blowers in Indonesia from 1996 to 2011. (lfr)