President Yudoyono had made the fight against corruption a top priority during the election campaign, but a year later the situation shows little improvement.

Jakarta (AsiaNews/Agencies) – A year after President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono came to power vowing to fight Indonesia's corruption, the problem persists.

"After a year of SBY's [Mr Yudhoyono's] government, the big corruptors are still on the loose," Indonesia's weekly Tempo magazine said in a recent issue. "Corruption in this nation has reached nauseating and critical proportions."

"[Mr] Yudhoyono has made some progress but mostly [it has been] symbolic," said Endy Bayuni, chief editor of the Jakarta Post.

According to a new report by Berlin-based corruption watchdog Transparency International, things are improving in Indonesia, but only marginally. The country was still ranked 137th out of the 159 countries surveyed, near Ethiopia and Iraq.

"Corruption is still a big problem here," Finnish Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Mari Johanna Kiviniemi said last week in Jakarta. "I think it is one of the biggest obstacles for Finnish companies to invest here," she added. "In that sense, the Indonesian government still has a lot of work to do. It is not enough to just have policies. The government should also have the determination to implement them in practice."

Bribery is seen as commonplace in Indonesia. Judges are often bought off and the country's massive bureaucracy is riddled with layers of corruption involving endless backhanders.

Mr Yudhoyono, who portrayed himself as a man of integrity in the 2004 election campaign, came to power on two promises: the fight against corruption and the struggle against terrorism.

Once in office, he boosted the powers of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) which achieved a notable success when it jailed the former governor of Aceh province Abudullah Puteh in April for buying a helicopter with government funds.

But Taufiequrachman Ruki, who heads the KPK, is the first to admit that the anti-corruption drive is in a mess and he lays the blame squarely at the door of corrupt government institutions.

"Legislation and law enforcement continue to be in a shambles," Mr Ruki said. "The KPK has not seen any clear move to get rid of corruption in government institutions." Indeed, "corruption is not seen as the common enemy—the KPK is seen as the common enemy," he added.

More and more high-profile corruption cases have surfaced in recent months, splitting opinion between those who see them as evidence the authorities are clamping down, and others who fear they only show what little is being achieved.

"Eradicating corruption will never work without first reforming the bureaucracy," said Danang Widoyoko, deputy coordinator of Indonesia Corruption Watch.

"A general and integrated strategy to combat corruption must be implemented simultaneously, and it is very important that the president himself monitor this implementation," he added.

• indonesia
• corruption
• susilo