Hands flew up in Taman Ismail Marzuki auditorium in Central Jakarta in August  this year when a moderator opened a recent question and answer session on corruption, after everyone had watched a play dramatizing the  challenges Indonesia faces.   

“How chronic is the corruption that occurs in our country?”

“What has ICW [Indonesia Corruption Watch] done to tackle corruption in Indonesia?”

“What’s the impact of corruption on our environment?”

High school students posed their questions at a play-plus-discussion on corruption coorganized by ICW, the Indonesian Art Association (PSI) and two theater groups, Praxis and Mainteater, as part of efforts to curb corruption. The main agenda item was the drama Ladang Perminus performed
August 12-13.

Sely Martini of ICW said she was proud that many young people have become more aware about the problems in their surroundings.

“The many questions raised during the discussion showed that they care about corruption which still has a strong hold over our country,” she said.

Sely said the youngsters needed to understand more about corruption and get involved in preventive measures to fight it, because they were not yet involved in graft themselves.

“They need to know the causes and the impacts of corruption as early as possible for preventive
action. But some want to know about it because they have become victims of corruption already,” she said.

Alanza Maya of SMA 76 in East Jakarta said that, apart from expanding her knowledge, she attended the discussion because she had been personally affected by corruption and wanted to understand more about corruption in Indonesia.

“My father got fired because the company where he worked went bankrupt and closed down. He told me that investors fled when they found out about corruption in the company,” she said.

Alanza said she was motivated to engage in whatever anti-corruption activities she could find.

“I now know that corruption also occurs in educational and
the healthindustries. That
surprised me.”

Alanza also entered the writing competition on corruption which was part of the two-day event.

Another participant, Stewart of SMA St. Ursula in Bumi Serpong Damai, Tangerang, was also an administrator of the Kaskus online community. He said he had become more interested in corruption because it came up in the online forum every day.

“We’re actually a rich nation, in terms of natural resources and people. But this graft has ruined everything,” he said.

The theatrical performance and discussion were presented a week earlier in Bandung, West Java, at Gedung Kesenian Rumentang Siang on August 6-8.

The best writings from the competition will be collected and published in a book. The book will be distributed to schools for free and sold in bookstores.