The Web Explorer

Kornelius Purba, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia’s dream of creating a civil society — in my novice
understanding, this happens when the civilians outgun the military –
is getting closer to reality. It appears so, anyway, when reports say
at least four Army generals were easily lured by a group of first-class
politicians promising them a lucrative civilian post.

During the Soeharto era it was the military who made such offers to the
civilians. Isn’t it major progress, albeit in a negative sense, since
the civilians used illicit means to convince the senior generals?
The politicians succeeded in collecting billions of rupiah from the
generals, who I am sure had raised the money through legal means. The
money was supposed to come from their salary, because the law forbids
them from seeking other sources of income.
Please, never doubt their integrity and honesty. It is true that their
salaries are small compared to the money they handed to the political
parties. But because many Indonesians are devout religious people,
miracles often happen in this country.
How come the civilians easily courted the Army generals, who are
supposed to excel in war strategy? The trick is very simple: The
generals were offered a chance to contest the Jakarta election as the
running mate of leading candidate Fauzi Bowo. Of course, there is no
such thing as a free lunch.
But when Fauzi, the incumbent deputy governor, eventually announced
Maj. Gen. (ret.) Prijanto was his running mate, the disappointed
generals demanded back their money. The media reported one of them sent
four muscular messengers to do the job. Unfortunately, one of them was
badly injured in a fight with the supporters of the party in question,
so the general had to spend extra cash on his hospital bill.
Then readers may ask: How much did Prijanto spend on the position? Not
a single cent, I guess. Fauzi chose the general because he wanted to
show the world how civilians and the military could work together to
build a better Jakarta.
Some readers said they burst into laughter after reading The Jakarta
Post’s front page report on Monday about two retired generals who were
outraged after being duped by political crooks, who told them they
would get much closer to the position of deputy governor of Jakarta if
they paid huge bribes.
They had to humiliate themselves despite their status as admirable
retired two-star generals, perhaps because their wives shouted, “Get
the money back, or you will sleep in the yard!”
Maj. Gen. (ret.) Djasri Marin claimed he had paid up to Rp 3 billion
(US$330,000) to politicians from the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle and the United Development Party to make sure that Fauzi Bowo
would choose him as his running deputy in the Aug. 8 gubernatorial
election. Maj. Gen. (ret.) Slamet Kirbiantoro reportedly poured Rp 1.5
billion into the same coffers.
“I was extorted and cheated,” said Djasri, who once served as commander of the Military Police.
For the generals it is not about money, but honor.
Media Indonesia reported two more retired Army generals fell prey to
the fraudulent practice. Maj. Gen. (ret) EW and Maj. Gen. AT paid Rp
3.7 billion and Rp 4 billion respectively according to the newspaper.
Some reports identified them as Edy Waluyo and Asril Tandjung. Antara
reported three more retired major generals had also sought the same
position.
I may be wrong, but it is very tempting to question the quality of our
Indonesian Military officers after two Army generals admitted to having
been cheated by civilian swindlers. Another silly question may follow:
How did they lead their soldiers in the battlefield without being duped
by the state’s enemies?
But please don’t ask why they had to pay bribes just to become Fauzi’s
deputy? This is nothing to do with personal vested interests. They just
want to serve the nation. Just as in war they would not hesitate to
shed their blood to defend the country, in peace they are ready to
sacrifice their wealth to get the chance to help Fauzi build Jakarta.
No more, no less.
Do not underestimate the generals’ common sense. They happily gave
their money to the civilian crooks because they — naively — believed
in the principle of civil supremacy over the military!
Bribery is common practice in elections for regents, governors and
legislative councils. Money politics also played an important role
during the direct presidential election in 2004. So please do not miss
the point.
For us Indonesians it is just normal that we have to spend extra money
to get such prestigious — sometimes lucrative — public positions. It
has nothing to do with corruption or other dirty practices. It has
become our part. Foreigners who think they are superior to Indonesians
often wrongly conclude that we are a corrupt nation.
The generals only made a small mistake: They forgot to ask for a
receipt! Now these generals can be sued by the crooks for defamation.