V

ice President Boediono said that the country had taken great strides in its fight against graft and that there was sufficient legislation and institutions to combat corruption.

'I think I am justified in saying that we have managed to undo many corrosive practices of the past. Government policies are now more open to examination by the public,' he said.

'Today, transparency has become a norm in many aspects of public life. Monopoly-granting power is no longer entrenched, nor is flagrant nepotism or blatant cronyism.'

Boediono's remarks were made the during his speech for the International Bar Association's Anti-Corruption Conference, which was held by the association together with the Indonesian Advocates Association (Peradi), in Jakarta on Wednesday.

He said that in general, the rule of law had improved despite criticism that it had progressed too slowly.

The Vice President explained that law enforcement agencies, especially the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), had been instrumental to uncovering graft cases.

In 2012 alone, the KPK recovered Rp 113 billion (US$11.63 million) of state funds from graft convicts. As a comparison, the KPK recovered Rp 134.65 billion in 2011, Rp 179.99 billion in 2010 and Rp 142.99 billion in 2009.

He also said that the government had created road maps in support of its fight against graft including the 2012 Presidential Regulation No. 55 on national strategy for corruption prevention and eradication.

However, critics warned that corrupt practices would still occur, especially with the approach of the 2014 general elections.

Transparency International's 2012 Corruption Perception Index ranked Indonesia 118th out of 176 countries, down from 100th place ' out of 183 ' in 2011.

The 2013 US State Department Money Laundering Report said that Indonesia remained vulnerable to money laundering due to a weak rule of law and ineffective law enforcement institutions, although it acknowledged that some progress had been made to combat corruption.

Last year, Paris-based international money-laundering watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), put Indonesia back on the blacklist of countries that failed to meet international anti-money laundering standards.

Boediono acknowledged that corruption remained a problem, saying that it continued to be 'a malignant cell in the society'. He also warned that 'what we have achieved so far can easily be reversed'.

Former KPK commissioner Amien Sunaryadi said he 'had indeed seen changes in how Indonesia perceived corruption' although the practice of graft remained a serious problem.