Bribery in Indonesia Context


Bribery and Justice in Indonesia
(Should you pay or not pay bribe?)



Introduction
Bribery is one of the moral problems still we face in Indonesia. Kuncoro states based on detailed survey, in 2001 firms report spending on average over 8% of costs on bribes and over 10% of management time in “smoothing business operations” with local officials[1].    Indonesia Corruption Perception Index (CPI) is increase from 2.8 (2008) to 3.00 (2011)[2]. But still in its efforts to eradicate corruption, the country occupied a position 100 of 183 countries measured. In ASEAN region, score of Indonesia CPI is under Singapore, Brunei, Thailand and Malaysia. Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar have lower scores than Indonesia[3].
 What are Christian responses against the bribery case around them? Is it enough just to abstain from bribes when we are required to give a bribe illegally? I think we should not only be abstaining from doing bribe, but also we should think further of how to eradicate the practice of bribery that has already embedded in a community.
In order to review this thought I use the method of survey from some passages of the Bible to examine what the Bible said about giving and taking bribe and its impact to social justice. I take passages from Old Testament (Book of Law and Book of Prophet Isaiah) and New Testament (Gospel and Book of Acts). I also point out about how the bribery give impact to social justice development in a community, by survey of some literatures and mass media report.  As a conclusion, we will have some suggestions from reflection on how to deal with bribery especially in Indonesia context.

The Definition of Bribe
John T Noonan defines a bribe is “an inducement improperly influencing the performance of a public function meant to be gratuitously exercised”[4]. Rob Bellingham defines bribery as “the bestowing of money or favor upon a person who is in a position of trust in order to pervert his judgment or corrupt his conduct. It intends to make a person act illegally, unjustly or immorally”[5].  Vinay Samuel on his article states that “bribes are individual offers of gifts of inducement to influence decision making; to gain unfair advantage; to escape with supplying substandard service or products; to receive “out of turn” favors; to facilitate faster delivery service.[6]. Encyclopedia Britannica gives definition on bribery as “penal offense defined as the giving or receiving of consideration for official favor”[7]. The point to be highlighted for the definition is the influencing of decision, performance, official behavior and favor by the power of money, goods or service in order to pervert someone's judgment or corrupt his conduct.
To clarify the definition, we will distinguish the differences between bribery with gift, reward, extortion, corruption to find out the major differences of the terms.


Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Webster Dictionary of American English
Gift
at present or something which is given
A present; anything given or bestowed; the property of which is voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation; a donation.
reward
something given in exchange for good behavior or good work, etc
Recompense or equivalent return for good done, kindness, services and the like. Rewards may consist of money, goods or any return of kindness or happiness.

extort
to get something by force or threat, or with difficulty
To draw from by force or compulsion; to wrest or wring from by physical force, by menace, duress, violence, authority, or by an illegal means.
corrupt
illegal, bad or dishonest behavior, especially by people in positions of power
To pervert or vitiate integrity; to bribe; as, to corrupt a judge


Survey of Bribery on Old Testament
On the Book of Deuteronomy
“For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes.” (Deu 10:17)
“Do not pervert justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent.” (Deu 16:19)

Deu 10:17 gives us description about God's character that shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. These expressions of shows no partiality means that “He does not lift up faces”; He does not base decisions on selective favoritism[8]. PC Craige ( 1976) states that "God shows no partially to man on the basis of his social and economic standing in the community"[9]
Deu 16:19 is applied to judges and officials of Israelites. It gives us the reason why bribery condemns in Israelites. The first reason is that a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise. Judge or official can lose their neutrality on a decision making because of a bribe. Second reason for not doing the bribery is that the bribery can pervert the words of the righteous.

On the Book of Prophet Isaiah
Your rulers are rebels, partners with thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them. (Isaiah 1:23)
who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent. (Isaiah 5:23)
 Those who walk righteously and speak what is right, who reject gain from extortion and keep their hands from accepting bribes, who stop their ears against plots of murder and shut their eyes against contemplating evil— (Isaiah 33:15)
 Love of bribes to the leaders of Israelites makes discrimination. They were loving bribes, greedy after rewards and rejected to defend the case of fatherless and widows.  This will happen when laws only stand for the rich and the poor become forgotten. In bribery, money has power to manipulate a case to someone advantage. And the weak (the poor, widows, orphans), who do not have money required; do not have power to gain their justice. As Richard Langston said that “For a bribe they will deny justice to the poor (Am 5:12), the orphan, and the widow (Is 1:23). They will make deals with rich man to do whatever he wants done (Mic 7:3), even to the extreme of killing an innocent person (Deut 27:25; Ez 22:12)”[10]. That is the condition of a society which the greedy after bribe have corrupted in the society.

Bribery on the New Testament
In the book of Gospel, we can find some passage that contains principles about bribery. Richard Langston appointed some events as: Chief Priest and Judas (thirty silver coins), Chief Priest and the Guards of Jesus' Tomb (bribe for false testimony of the soldiers)[11]. The expulsion of vendors at the Temple is Jesus first act performed in Jerusalem[12]. In John 2:16, “And said unto them that sold doves..... make not my Father's house a house of merchandise.” The birds sacrifice is used for the poor. God's justice and righteousness must be enforced, first in the Temple as the center of Jewish religion.
In the story of Zacchaeus, he confesses to public about his conversion (Luke 19:8) “....and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” As also John the Baptist instructed Tax Collector (Luk 3:13) “Don't collect any more than you are required to”. I think the conversion of Zacchaeus gives us perspective of not just to condemn or judge the acts of “bribery or extortion” (sinner). One of Jesus concern from the story is how to bring the lost back to the Father and they restored by their faith to God.
At the book of Acts we have the story of Simon the Sorcerer and Peter. In Act 8:18-24, “.... he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power...” Simon wants to use power of money to buy the gift of Holy Spirit. And his act condemn by Peter as“wickedness”. Peter also describes: “for thy heart is not right in the sight of God”, “thou art on the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity”. There are many things behind the surface of “offering money” that can be counted as “wickedness” and “our heart is not right in the sight of God”.
The story of Felix and Paul also appointed by some authors to connected with “bribery”. Act 24:26 “He hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul, that he might lose him”. Felix, a Roman Governor hopes Paul gives him money to release his case.  But Paul did not give him money to be out from the prison. Paul preached to Felix before about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come. It is Paul's integrity for his witnesses of the Gospel more than the opportunity to be released by the power of money.
The Impact of Bribery 
In his article, Vinay Samuel gives conclusions of the impact of bribery to our life. Bribery can[13]:
1.      Create an unjust advantage and distort justice
2.      Create expectations and bind the receiver to the giver’s agenda
3.      Pervert normal power structures and maintain the perverted structure of extortion
4.      Benefit the rich and disadvantage the vulnerable
Noonan gives four reason why bribery is likely continue to be morally condemned[14]:
1.      Bribery is universally shameful
2.      Bribery is a selout to the rich
3.      Bribery is a betrayal of trust
4.      Bribery violates a divine paradigm

Noonan states that at anthropologically view, the bribe taking (Hebrew: shohadh) has risked danger and in fact brought about disaster by polluting the community. He further states that like the violated sexual rules, the commandment against shohadh (bribe), if observed, have protected a nation[15]. As we can conclude that accepting bribery is not only has small impact on a community. It also has risk danger to a nation when it become embedded and accepted culturally in the nation. Justice becomes distorted, righteousness has no sound in the country, and the weak is being oppressed because of no more justice.

Bribery in Indonesia Context
For the past 5 years Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) of Indonesia has been aggressively fighting to corruption. “We are carrying out the most aggressive anticorruption campaign in Indonesian history,” Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia said[16].  An Indonesian court on April 2012 sentenced the former treasurer of the governing Democrat Party to four years and 10 months in prison and fined him 200 million rupiah for bribery, in the first of several verdicts in a case that has riveted the nation and shaken the party of the President[17].
In Ernst & Young’s recent 2012 annual global fraud study, 60 percent of Indonesian respondents said that making cash payments to win new business is acceptable practice[18].  It stills a long way for Indonesia to be able to eradiculate the culture of corruption from the country.
Justice and righteousness still become irony in the country. Some cases give a very contrast alignment of justice for the poor and for the rich. There are slogans sounding in the public: “Give money and your case will be release” or “for all to ease your business, you need cash”.  For the rich, they will be released from their case, or be extended for months or years on the “bargaining” process. The power of money will speak for 'the have'. The poor cannot do anything because they do not have anything to give as a bribe to buy justice.
Tragedy of flip-flop (slipper) being a 'burn' discussion by Indonesian People on the end 2011. People raised movement to collect “one million flip-flop sandals for justice” as a symbol of injustice in Indonesia and gives it to the police office center. There was a case of a boy (15 years old) stole a pair of sandals-flops belonging to policemen. The boy was facing a possible five-year jail sentence but the court instead ordered that he be sent home[19].  This case appeared in the midst of  many cases of bribes of billion Rupiah which is lifted up on court and public media on the past three years but still no clear end because the convoluted process.
 Three years ago, there is other case of grandma Minah, live in Sidoharjo, Central Java, who was sentence to be punished 6 months jailed because she stole three cocoa fruit (the price is about 30 cents SGD at traditional market) from the plantation of PT Sari Antan. Minah had a reason for what he has done. She already had 200 seeds of cocoa on her own, but she wants to add a little amount of cocoa seed on her farm. To achieve the company's plantations, she walked away from her home along the 3 km more. The other case at the same province, four former parliament members of Semarang, Central Java suspect in corruption case for doubling the regional government budget about 2, 16 billion Rupiah sentenced to be free. 
We still find many forms of corruption and bribery in Indonesia. We could say from making an ID card, driving license, installation of electricity, sometimes we can meet someone who take advantage of the situation and gain for their own profit. But there is still a hope to fighting against bribery. There are many people still stand to fight on bribery in the country.

Conclusion
Base on my observation of the principles, I recommend not pay the bribe. When you pay a bribe, that indicate that you are agree with the practice of bribe will be existed and continued in the country. Imagine that the case will be happen and continue to other persons by generations as an unbreakable chain if no one wants to stop the practice. When you pay the bribe, that means that you are agree that the power of money, goods or service can be used as a tool to pervert a decision or to make your own rule to facilitate your need.

My recommendation to the Mission Committee how to deal with bribery:
1.      Pray for the pass issued
2.      Ask advise from local Christian people/leaders
3.      Talk to the officer honestly
o   Showing your honesty and integrity is more valuable than to give them bribe. It will be a good learning process for them to encounter negative respons of bribery from their client.
4.      Talk to the head of the department about the case (a higher position)
o   Share your case persuasively and honestly to the head of department
o   Share your case to the institution in the department that accept public complains. You can give your complain of the case of to the Office of Public Complaints and Reporting Corruption. There are many room to share your complain in media as a sharing or writing reflection for people to learn from the case.
5.      Take the cost/consequences : waiting a longer time for the issuing pass is better than to give a bribe
6.      If you want to give a gift to someone, make sure that you know the differences between bribe and gift. A gift is a present that you can freely give without any agenda to influence someone's decision or to gain unfair advantage; to gain favor, or to have a faster delivery service out of the rule for your own sake.



[1]              Kuncoro Ari & Henderson, J. Vernon, A Paper: “Corruption in Indonesia”, Brown University and University of Indonesia, April 2006.
[2]             The CPI scores countries on a scale of zero to 10, with zero indicating high levels of corruption and 10, low levels (http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/dec/01/corruption-index-2011-transparency-international)
[3]              http://ti.or.id/index.php/publication/2011/12/01/corruption-perception-index-2011
[4]              Noonan, John T., “Bribery.”  In A New Dictionary of Christian Ethics, ed. James F Childress & John Mac Quarrie. (London: SCM Press LTD, 1986) p 65-66
[5]              Rob Bellingham, “Bribery” In Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions, Ed. A Scott Moreau (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000)  p 146
[6]              Vinay Samuel, "Business and Corruption," Transformation, Jan-March, 1995, p 23
[7]              “Bribery” In The New Encyclopedia Britannica,  Vol 2 (Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1992) p 509
[8]              Christipher Wright, “Deuteronomy” (Massachusets: Hendrickson Publishers, 1996) p 148
[9]              P.C Craigie, “The book of Deuteronomy” (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976) p 206
[10]           Richard Langston,  Bribery and the Bible (Singapore: Campus Crusade Asia Limited, 1991) p 31
[11]           Langston, p 51-54
[12]           John T Noonan Jr,  “Bribes”, (New York:Macmillan Publishing Company,1984)  p57
[13]           Vinay Samuel, p26
[14]           Noonan, p 702
[15]           Noonan , p18
[16]           Source New York Time: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/21/world/asia/former-treasurer-convicted-of-bribery-in-indonesia.html
[17]           ibid
[18]           “Growing Beyond : A place for Integrity 12th Global Fraud Survey” (Erns & Young, 2012) p 5
[19]           http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16415716

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