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n a show of their commitment to promoting good and clean governance, officials of the Research and Technology Ministry and the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Friday separately signed a so-called “integrity pact”.

The signing was a declaration of their commitment to curb corruption within their organizations.

“We hereby pledge to be corruption-free institutions by signing this pact,” Research and Technology Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta said.

Severe punishment for corruption convicts was important, but, the government also needed to set up preventive measures to check corrupt practices in the first place, the minister said.

The ministry’s move follows similar action by the Administrative Reforms Ministry in April when it kicked off a fresh campaign to curb corruption in bureaucracy. The campaign was called the “integrity zone”.

Under the campaign, the ministries, government agencies and local administrations are required to file reports regularly with the ministry on the progress of their antigraft measures. The program also requires all government officials and civil servants at the institutions to sign an antigraft pact.

After signing the pact, the Administrative Reforms Ministry — along with law enforcement institutions such as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) — will monitor the institutions’ development.

An institution will achieve status of a “corruption-free zone” after fulfilling several requirements determined by the ministry and the KPK.

Several institutions and local administrations had declared their support of the program.

Gusti said the signing ceremony showed the institutions affirmation of Presidential Instruction No.17/2011 on the prevention and eradication of corruption.

“The signature of the integrity pact reflects our commitment to create a corruption-free ministry and non-ministerial institutions related to it as per the presidential instruction,” Gusti said.

Gusti acknowledged that curbing corruption was tough work. However, he pushed all his employees to remain optimistic and try to resolve corruption cases in the nation.

“The KPK and other law enforcers work non-stop. On the other hand, bureaucratic reforms through the integrity-zone program should also keep moving,” he said.

The heads of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), the National Nuclear Energy Agency (Batan), the Assessment and Application of Technology Agency (BPPT) and the National Aeronautics and Space Institute (LAPAN), attended the meeting.

On the same day, the KPU also signed an integrity pact. The pact was proposed by several election watchdogs. (fzm)