Indonesia & Corruption: a few articles in the past few weeks

[snpark]

So what does the word in the middle really mean?

Don't know if you joking or not but it means how that country is perceived to be corrupt or not, not that it actually is

I mean in Arabic there is a word "wasta" which is like "hadiah" Hadiah is a gift, Arabs often bring gifts to my meetings, evenn just kurma or bakhoor or a gallon of Zamzam etc etc

But wasta is like official bribe money, basically paying for fast track service wink wink

 

[Balifrog]

"money is the most important thing in life" does not necessary mean corruption. It just means pure or exaggerated materialism.

And getting it by any means....

 

[pantaiema]

A bunch of international groups/institutions try to measure global corruption. Beside the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), there are others such as the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index, the OECD Public Integrity Indicators (OECD PIIs), the Global Corruption Barometer (GCB), and the Financial Secrecy Index (FSI).

When come to measuring domestic public-sector corruption (bribery, judicial integrity, administrative red tape), e.g corruption within the country, Singapore & Hongkong Ranks as one of the cleanest nations on Earth if you use CPI & WJP. Indonesia is one of the most corrupt countries based on this measure. I believe those who have been living in Indonesia long enough, will agree with this.

However when come to Financial Secrecy & Offshore Abuse (FSI) Singapore & Hong Kong rank among the worst. Indonesia is much cleaner/better. Many people who have seen how the corruption in Indonesia happen could see it why. Unlike Singapore, Hong Kong, the Indonesian conglomerates do not operate a massive global offshore, international financial business hub network. They rely on preferential treatment, protection, plundering the country asset, natural resources which could only work effectively within the countries. Also the collusion between the legislative, executive and judicial power which is hardly found in other countries, is not uncommon in Indonesia.

When come to the household name and the benchmark of macro level corruption the CPI is widely accepted and quoted. But just like big metrics in economics, development or poverty, it also gets its fair share of legitimate criticisms.

Here’s the thing: since corruption happens under the table, it's super hard to measure let alone to quantify it with hard numbers. That’s why broad tools like the CPI end up leaning heavily on expert vibes and perceptions. Since it launched back in 1995 as the first major public index to actually rank countries on corruption, it had a massive head start, which is a big reason it's still the most famous one today.

 

[Balifrog]

since corruption happens under the table, it's super hard to measure let alone to quantify it with hard numbers

Based on my personal experience having worked / lived there several years :

- Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam : VERY corrupt at every level.

- South Korea : Corrupt, but mainly at high level. Just see the list of presidents jailed for it. Same for P.M.

Five former South Korean presidents have been sent to jail following their time in office.

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• • Chun Doo-hwan (served 1980–1988): Convicted of mutiny, treason, and corruption; initially sentenced to death in 1996, later commuted to life imprisonment and pardoned.
  • Roh Tae-woo(served 1988–1993): Convicted on similar treason and corruption charges and sentenced to 22 years in prison, later pardoned
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  • Park Geun-hye d 2013–2016): Impeached and convicted on multiple counts of abuse of power, coercion, and bribery; sentenced to over 20 years in prison, later pardoned.
    
    
  • Lee Myung-bak (served 2008–2013): Convicted of embezzlement and bribery and sentenced to 17 years in prison, later pardoned.
  - Hong Kong : Corruption present mainly in the business world. Not always in cash, but often in gifts or what I call "facilitations" or a "helping hand" for promotion, inciting to sell property, hiring or "replacing" somebody "difficult" by a more "flexible" person.
  
  
  
  I have seen an Italian engineer, going by the books, and hence a obstacle for the smooth working of the "Chinese way" being pushed out by his Chinese superior on demand of "X". The superior being rewarded by "X" with a 6 months old Rang Rover Sport.
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[Balifrog]

Another example of HKG's corruption involving politicians, triads and police :

The event you are referring to is the 2019 Yuen Long attack, which took place on July 21, 2019, at the Yuen Long MTR station in Hong Kong. During this incident, a armed mob of over 100 men dressed in white T-shirts indiscriminately assaulted pro-democracy protesters and regular commuters with metal rods and wooden poles, leaving at least 45 people injured. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Key Details of the Attack

• • The Perpetrators: The attackers were widely suspected and later confirmed by police to have deep ties to local triad organized crime syndicates, specifically groups like the 14K and Wo Shing Wo. [1, 2]
  • The Targets: Armed with batons and sticks, the mob targeted individuals dressed in black (the signature color of the 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests) who were returning from a rally, as well as bystanders, journalists, and a lawmaker. [1, 2, 3]
  • The Scene: Attackers stormed the station concourse, breached closed entrances, and even entered stopped train carriages to beat trapped passengers. [1, 2]

The Aftermath & Controversy

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• • Delayed Police Response: The Hong Kong Police Force faced immense criticism for taking nearly an hour to respond to emergency calls. This triggered severe public backlash and allegations of collusion between law enforcement and triad gangs, though police officials strongly denied these claims. [1, 2, 3]
  • Legal Convictions: Dozens of individuals have since been arrested. In the years following, the Hong Kong District Court has convicted multiple white-shirted attackers for rioting and wounding, handing down prison sentences ranging up to seven years. Conversely, several pro-democracy figures who were present at the scene, including former lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting, were also later charged and convicted of rioting by the government. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  
  
  

  2019 Yuen Long attack - Wikipedia

  en.wikipedia.org
  
  Go directly to "criticism of police response"
  
  
  
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