Govt to continue improving system to fight corruption: President Jokowi

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said here on Thursday that he would continue to improve the system of government and intensify law enforcement to eradicate corruption in the country.

Through the two approaches, corruption cases in the country could be reduced, he told newsmen after attending the 12th meeting of the All Indonesian Municipal Government Association.

"We will continue the efforts to improve the system of government to assure that no official would trespass it. Law enforcement will also be intensified to create deterrent effect," he noted.

Jokowi also advised law enforcers to differentiate between acts that were taken as a result of a policy and thefts.

"I see many regional heads who are still afraid of making decisions because of the situation," he said.

In view of that, he also appealed to law enforcers to be courageous enough to decide if an act was a mere result of a policy and not categorize it as a criminal case.

Jokowi called for control and supervision functions to be stepped up to minimize corruption.

"Our duty is working. The plan and the organization are already there. Every decision that we take must be controlled and checked. That is what we have often forgotten as part of management that covers planning, organizing, and controlling," he remarked.

He stated that he had often visited the field to monitor projects being carried out. "Although there are cabinet ministers, provincial governors, district heads and city mayors, direct supervision is needed. If we go there two or four times, ministers may go eight times, while governors 16 times. This is the management that must be carried out to assure functions of control and supervision," he revealed.

Corruption has so far been a big problem in the country and although the government has set up Corruption Eradication Commission to fight the crime, it still continues.

KPK, as the anti-graft agency is locally called, has recently named Setya Novanto, the speaker of the House of Representatives, who is also general chairman of one of the countrys major political parties Golkar, as a suspect in a corruption case.
Source: ANTARA