In Reply to: Thanks Cliff posted by Rex on Monday, 24. January 2005 at 11:23 Bali Time:
It's funny how when everyone here talks about the smiling faces of the Balinese they forget that the police can smile too, if they are treated as humans.
I don't know about Balinese police so much, but in other parts of Indonesia if I'm going to be somewhere for more than a week in the same place I always make a point of going to the local police station and introducing myself and having a chat. Cops tend to like a drink, too, so if I meet one in a pub I always buy him a drink and chat because those guys also have heaps of info about all the scams in the area. And it can be handy if you're a tourist and the locals see a cop waving to you and calling your name as you walk down the street.
Even the cops consider themselves powerless in the fight against corruption, because their superiors are corrupt. And their superiors' superiors are also corrupt... all the way to the top. Everyone feels trapped by the system that perpetuates itself, and nobody wants to make the sacrifice to break the chain. It's like if there are six people being held at bay by a gunman who has only one bullet... sure, they could overpower him, but no one wants to be the one who cops the bullet.
SBY has a reputation of being a deep thinker who considers things carefully before acting. I hope that's true, because a huge, holistic plan is needed. Simply arresting people for individual acts of corruption is not really a long-term solution. Neither is merely telling the public to refuse to tolerate it. All levels must be tackled simultaneously, and even then it will take at least a generation to get rid of the corruption mindset and develop the attitude that in the long term the whole country benefits from honesty.
There is a stark contrast in the attitudes of shopkeepers/staff in Bali, who constantly try to short change tourists, and those in Malaysia who more often than not will refuse to be tipped even a small amount. At least on that level they seem to have got it together.