The graft-busters strike again

摘要

At last it is possible to detect signs that Indonesia is making progress against its rampant corruption. In the latest in a series of spectacular busts by its Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), on September 16th investigators pounced on a director of the anti-monopoly agency at a Jakarta hotel, as a businessman allegedly bunged him 500m rupiah ($53,000). This week the mayor of Medan, one of Indonesia's biggest cities, was jailed for five years for a fiddle over the procurement of fire engines.rnIn Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions Index, published this week, Indonesia improved its lowly ranking, coming 126th out of 180 countries; last year it was 143rd out of 179 countries surveyed. Its "cleanliness" score has risen modestly since the KPK was created in 2002. Buoyed by public support, the agency is calling for those convicted of graft to be dressed in garish uniforms and thrown into the same special jail that houses terrorists.