Ministry denies ICW’s graft findings
Margareth S. Aritonang, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 02/08/2012 8:16 AM
The Education and Culture Ministry has denied Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) findings that say most of the corruption cases recorded last year involved the education sector.
However, Education and Culture Minister Mohammad Nuh acknowledged that there were a number of irregularities in the education sector, as well as in his own ministry, saying that they were minor and reparable.
“Our inspectorate general’s office has received reports of irregularities, but I don’t think such reports indicate corruption because some of them [only] lead to inappropriate procedures — in managing the School Operating Assistance (BOS) fund, for instance,” Nuh said.
“Irregularities do occur in the education sector, as well as in the ministry. But those are minor ones that are reparable.”
He added that the ministry welcomes criticism from all parties, including the ICW, as long as it was justified.
“I won’t deny nor accept ICW’s finding until it shares the results with us. Therefore, I hope ICW gives us the details,” Nuh said.
ICW recently reported that 12.4 percent, or 54 of last year’s 436 corruption cases that cost the state Rp 2.17 trillion (US$243.04 million), involved education. Other corrupt practices involved regional financial management (11.7 percent), social security (9.6 percent) and transportation (8.5 percent), according to ICW.
“We recorded that corrupt practices had ripped off around Rp 115.67 billion of the Rp 246 trillion the state had allocated for education last year,” said Febri Hendri, who chairs ICW’s education and social service division.
He added that the amount could have been higher if more cases were recorded.
“The state loss was based on the 54 cases we recorded, which are now being investigated by the police and the Attorney General’s Office, with 112 people from all across the country have been named suspects. I believe the amount [of state losses] would be much higher if we collected all findings from the different antigraft bodies, including the yet to be revealed corrupt practices.”
