Especially for those of you who still care about the archipelago, a beautiful country, full of diverse cultures and natural resources.
Archipelagotimes.com – In the midst of the hustle and bustle of Jakarta at the end of the day, a middle-aged woman stands sculpting at the pelican crossing, staring at luxury cars that are reluctant to stop even when the red lights are on. She had just dropped her granddaughter off from school, on foot because public transportation was unreliable. On the other side of the road, a man in a tie got into a red official car, hung up the phone and said, “I’ll try, as long as there’s a smoothie.” Two worlds that are only separated by asphalt, but as far as the ocean when it comes to justice.
According to the 2024 LIPI survey, 72% of lower-middle-class residents believe that ‘small people have to find shortcuts’ to survive, including bribing officers or sinking RT cash. Ironically, at the same time, 68% of the upper class also feel that it is “normal” to give slippery money to speed up the affairs of permits or projects. Is this a cultural heritage of mutual cooperation or a misguided survival mentality?
At the coffee shop on the corner of the terminal, Mr. De Slamet said, “If bribery allows children to pass civil servants is wrong, it means that all my neighbors will go to hell.” Laughter breaks out, but there’s bitterness at the end. We are so good at turning evil into funny, such as naming ‘envelope’ with the term ‘kitchen spice’ or ‘friendship rope’. The archipelago is indeed rich, including in creating diction to wrap up depravity.
If everyone feels that they have no choice but to bribe, steal, or turn a blind eye to petty corruption, who can really be called a “corruptor”? Is corruption only about billions, or is it also about the ethics that we violate in our daily lives?
