Selasa, 16 April 2013

Ethics, leadership and order


Ethics, leadership and order
Anies Baswedan  Rector of Paramadina University, Former Chairman of The Ethics Committee at The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)
JAKARTA POST, 15 April 2013
  

It is obvious why we keep checking off the names Muhammad Hatta, Gen. Hoegeng and Gen. Sudirman on lists noting exemplary figures. They are individuals whom we look up to on account of the values they stood up for: Hatta for his promotion of austerity, Hoegeng for averting graft despite having the chance to commit it and Sudirman for his unconditional love for this country.

If we look around us today, we cannot find these types of figures anymore. We are sorely lacking of good men, even if the standard has been lowered.

It is already difficult to find figures who can easily command our respect in public life, let alone in politics. In public life, it is rare to meet someone who can actually speak with moral authority in regards to occurrences in society.

It is much worse in politics. What we are currently seeing is a revolving door of power and money-hungry politicians, young and old, male and female, who pay no mind to ethics and moral principles, politicians who cut corners to get them to the top.

The problem is widespread. From the country’s highest institutions to roadside police stations, what we find are individuals who are ready to bend rules to further their individual or group’s interests.

We know there is a serious problem if those at the top are culpable of breaching the code of ethics and civility.

It is not only that they have the spotlight cast on them — which will make their wrongdoings and misconduct susceptible to exposure — but also because we consider them to be the crucible, people that we expect to uphold standards and the law as they are given a tremendous amount of power in their various positions.

Power tends to corrupt indeed, but the combination of power and ethics or goodwill, could make a difference, if not sweeping change.

Abraham Lincoln exploited, and may have abused the massive presidential power accorded to him, but he used that to achieve a noble objective, abolishing slavery.

Given his popularity, South African president Noble Laureate Nelson Mandela could have stayed on as the country’s leader for at least another term, but he voluntarily resigned from his presidency.

The lack of ethics-driven virtue in today’s leaders and politicos has created devastating results. We are now practically living in a lawless situation, a condition that Thomas Hobbes used to refer as nasty, brutish, although not necessarily short.

Not only do the strong prey on the weak but the weak feed off of their ilk simply to imitate what the powerful has done to them.

“Everybody else is doing it, so why can’t we,” is the most frequent answer that we get from people that break rules. If individuals in positions of power continue to violate the rules that they themselves made, why should regular folks play by the book? And with no punishment handed down to rule-breaking leaders, we can’t expect ordinary citizens to respect the law.

It is this degree of cynicism that has become the root of our lawless condition. Government officials never think twice about stealing money from state coffers, the way motorists never think twice about running a red light or disposing garbage from inside their moving vehicles.

They can violate the rules because no one is looking, because those who are supposed to watch over us are too busy looking after their own interests.
Politicos never think twice about violating political statutes because they are certain that rules and regulations could always be amended in response to the demands of the day.

Regardless, not everything is lost. There are still a number of institutions that we treat with respect, and it is with the utmost urgency that we must do everything we can to save these small numbers of institutions.

If we lose these last remaining defenders of ethics and morality, we could lose hope in the country’s future.

This is why the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), as the standard bearer of ethics and morality, has to be kept free from such ethical breaches. With the National Police and the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) dealing with internal corruption, the KPK is our only hope of eradicating graft. The standards for the KPK should always be set very high.

Crime happens when the benchmark is set too low. Corruption happens when the benefits and rewards from the offense outweighs the risk of getting caught.

The presence of the KPK has made the risk greater and such is the standard for the KPK. The anti-graft body can do no wrong, even when it concerns ethics, something that should be outside the purview of the law. There should be no impunity for ethical breaches.

The probe into the KPK ethical breach shows that people at the top can be held accountable for any possible wrongdoings, even if it concerns ethics. First it was ethics they violated, before long it will be rules and regulations.

The KPK, just like any other institution, is made up of people who can make mistakes. It is the willingness of the KPK to learn and correct mistakes that will make us all more optimistic for the future of the nation.

In the end, we have to bear in mind that social justice is a function of the rule of law that can only be ensured if our lawmakers and law enforcers set a high standard of ethics and integrity. 

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