In Reply to: I'm not being judgemental. posted by Rex on Sunday, 23. January 2005 at 12:21 Bali Time:
Police officers are paid around 500,000rp per month. They have to buy the job, usually at a cost of 20 million Rp. So it costs them nearly 3 1/2 years wages up front.
Usually the money has to be borrowed and repaid, and the only way to do that is to make extra cash on the side. Indonesians understand this, but they don't like it (except the criminals... it can be a handy system for them).
If SBY is serious about eliminating corruption, reforming the wage structure of police would be a good place to start. Until the system is changed, no police officer can live honestly on his/her salary. And if they had to, then no-one would join the force. Would you take a job that required you to pay 40 months of your expected salary before starting the job?