The terror of corruption

Indonesia is a mystery to most people. This sprawling archipelago of some 17,000 islands, span more than 5000 km (around 3,200 miles) with a population around 242 million people.
Indonesia’s resort Island is only 900 kms from Australian’s north coast, but a world away in cultural difference.It is this very proximity and exotic nature which draws thousands of Australian every year; drawn increasingly into the dark side of the culture.
Terrorist attacks on Westerners have increased in a country where police and military, at least parts of them, share sympathy with the attackers.
More fundamental is the corruption which is deeply rooted in the country. The latest incident, involving Indonesia’s ridged drug laws, is turning into yet another example of how treacherous the country can be for foreigners.
Michelle Leslie is an Australian actress and model.
During a visit to Bali in August 21 2005 two pills were found in Leslie's Gucci handbag. Tests by Indonesian police proved they were Ecstasy. It is difficult to have sympathy for anyone trafficking drugs into the region, but with two pills Leslie was hardly a trafficker.
In fact, she claimed very early on that she was given the pills, in the car, on route to a nightclub, the car which was subsequently pulled over and searched by police.
Facing anywhere from three months to 15 years in jail for allegedly possessing ecstasy tablet, Leslie has finally told the full story. Why did she take so long? Perhaps she could be forgiven for being fearful of her security in prison; her story threatens to drag of Indonesia's richest and most powerful politicians into a drugs scandal.
Economics Minister Aburizal Bakrie is the patriarch of one of the country's old conglomerates, with stakes in everything from media to natural resources. He's a great survivor. His family's private television station, ANTV, lists Rupert Murdoch as a 20 per cent investor.
He once said he was not embarrassed to be called a "crony" of the country's toppled strongman, General Soeharto, although he denied the obvious fact that he could rely on any unsavoury connections being silenced by a phone call.
The link between Leslie and the highest levels of the Indonesian Government was exposed in Bali newspapers recently. The Den Post reveals that when Leslie was arrested she was in a Toyota Kijang car bearing the logo of a luxury Bali resort, and with the son of Aburizal Bakrie who has a financial interest in that resort.
Bali newspapers carry reports on Leslie's friendship with the son of a minister; with "a large asset in Bali"; saying the son organised Leslie's accommodation in Bali.
The Den Post cites an unnamed source as saying the son of the minister and two other men in the car with Leslie are "the protected children".
Details of her arrest, and who was with her at the time, have been clouded in confusion. And the mystery deepened on Tuesday when the two officers who arrested her gave vague and contradictory testimony, including claiming they could not recall who was with Leslie in the car.
One policeman, Bogiek Sugiyarto, explained his poor memory by telling the court: "We searched a lot of beautiful girls that night."
Needless to say Bakrie is using all his authority, both as a government minister and media owner, to squash these reports. He is as aware as anyone in Indonesia; corruption is something to be kept in the family. The crime is being caught out and gaining international attention.
The question now is; will Leslie get a fair trial? Or more to the point, will she survive to have a trial at all. The only real hope of that is to bring international attention and pressure down on the countries authorities to ensure a proper investigation of all the allegations.
Left to their own devices, the Indonesian authorities have a long record of cover up.
Much of the background material for this comment comes from the Sydney Morning Herald