KPK Urges Public to Send Text Messages With Graft Details

SP/Novianti Setuningsih

Corrupt Indonesians might not be laughing out loud for much longer as a new text messaging service set up by the country’s anti-graft body means the public will soon be able to report cases of corruption by SMS.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is collaborating with 10 cellphone companies to open the text message “hotline.”

“The public can contact [the KPK] using the number 1575 to provide information about corruption,” KPK deputy chairman Bambang Widjojanto said in a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.

The 10 companies are AXIS, Bakrie Telecom, Hutchison Telecom, Indosat, Sampoerna Telekomunikasi, Smart Fren, Smart, Telkom, Telkomsel and XL Axiata.

The project has been introduced because, with an estimated 220 million cellphones in use in the country, it is the best way for many people to use such a service.

Bambang added that the cooperation with cellphone operators showed the private sector could play an important role in fighting corruption.

But questions were raised as to the usefulness of the service givens people wishing to report corruption will be charged a fee. In response to the criticism, which could put off some potential users, a Bakrie Telecom representative said the companies had to encourage Indonesians to act responsibly.

“We couldn’t offer it for free because [we’re] building responsibility,” Rahmat Junaidi, a representative of Bakrie Telekom, said on Monday.

Regarding confidentiality, Bambang said it had been agreed that the operators would not be allowed to monitor the messages.

Senders also don’t have to register before sending a message and operators have agreed not to publish the messages.

“Of course the issue of security was stipulated in the cooperation agreement. Because this service [is conducted] from one machine to another, it doesn’t involve people and any report that comes in to the machines provided by the telecommunication operators would go straight to KPK’s machine,” Bambang said.

Bambang said that anyone who wished to remain anonymous should use the whistle-blower system on the KPK website. Anyone wanting to use the system must give the KPK evidence of the crime.

The website whistle-blower service is only intended by graft involving more than Rp 1 billion ($106,000) in state losses.

The KPK also said it had made T-shirts for detainees costing Rp 50,000 each.