President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono claims his fight against corruption is on track, but admits corruption remains rife in numerous governance sectors.
Speaking during the commemoration of World Anti-Corruption Day at the National Monument on Tuesday, the President called on the public and law enforcement agencies to monitor the use of state and regional budgets for projects.
“We have to ensure that no state money is embezzled, and no state project is marked up,” he said.
The President said business license issuance was particularly prone to collusion between state officials and investors.
“State officials should not misuse their authority to help businesspeople,” he said.
Procurement of goods and services, tax and excise collection, recruitment of civil servants and private employees are also havens for corruption, the President said.
A number of recent graft trials at the Corruption Court have revealed collective corruption involving government officials, House of Representatives legislators and businesspeople.
The common modus operandi involves government officials asking businesspeople to provide bribes to win House approval for certain projects.
Since January, the Corruption Eradication Commission has arrested House politicians, government officials and their business partners for their alleged involvement in graft. Some have been convicted.
Yudhoyono said he was confident preventative measures were already bearing fruit.
“We are grateful that during these last couple of years there have been major achievements in our corruption eradication (effort). We should carry these on in a bid to free the country from corruption,” he said.
Indonesia moved up the rankings of the Transparency International perception corruption index from 143 to 126 this year. However, the Indonesia office of the anti-corruption surveyor said the achievement did not have anything to do with law enforcement, but rather concerned the progress of other countries during the year.
Yudhoyono said the country’s success in the fight against corruption was evidenced by the huge amount of state assets seized from corruption convicts and the establishment of a more advanced supporting system to deter people from corruption.
He attributed the achievement to the non-discriminatory approach of law enforcers.
“The government is very serious about combating corruption,” he said, adding that the country was only starting out in its journey to become corruption-free.
The anti-graft drive has ensnared the father-in-law of Yudhoyono’s son, Aulia Pohan, who has been named a suspect in the misappropriation of Bank Indonesia funds in 2003.
Aulia, a former BI deputy governor, is currently in custody at the Mobile Brigade detention center in Kelapa Dua in Depok, West Java, pending his trial.
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