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Finance Minister Sri Mulyani’s problems with the Customs and Excise Office
Whoever appointed the finance minister should realize the acts of the rotten apples inside the ministry have jeopardized the decades-long bureaucratic reform effort.
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Former Yogyakarta Customs and Excise Office head Eko Darmanto (right) leaves the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on March 7, 2023, after attending questioning regarding his net worth of Rp 15.7 billion (US$1 million). (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
L
et me start this column by recollecting the bold decision of then-president Soeharto in 1985 to entrust the Société General de Surveillance (SGS) to take over the jobs of the Customs and Excise Directorate General.
Soeharto’s tough decision was in response to persistent complaints about rampant corruption and abuses of power involving officials at the directorate general, which falls under the Finance Ministry. Many multinational and national companies reported to the President the horrors they endured when dealing with government agencies, especially customs and excise officials at Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta.
The Geneva-based company, known as the world's leading company in surveyor and inspection services, served the mandate for 12 years until April 1997.
President-elect Prabowo Subianto knows very well the story, as at that time he was Soeharto’s son-in-law. When the same outcries recur today, Prabowo must have a solution in mind and execute it when he takes office in October.
Nearly 40 years ago, the complaints were conveyed by corporations and investors who were fed up with red tape. Now the grievances come mostly from individuals who have arrived home from overseas trips.
Back in 1985, the locus delicti was Tanjung Priok Port, the hub of export and import activities. Now, the epicenter of the public clamor is Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, Banten.
The Jakarta Post reported last week that dozens of braille keyboards from a South Korean company were stranded for nearly two years at the airport just because the intended recipients of the goods, visually impaired school students in South Jakarta, were unable to pay more than Rp 100 million in duty and tax to the customs office. Only after the issue went viral did the Customs and Excise Office deliver the keyboards to the students.
