03
A
s the managing director of the German
– Indonesian Chamber of Industry and
Commerce (AHK Indonesia / EKONID), I am
often confronted with questions about corruption and
compliance by German and European companies that
are looking to do business in Indonesia.
Memories and stories of past obstructions, extensive
media coverage of ongoing investigations as well as
comparisons with other countries have led to a rather
less-than-positive image or perception of this great
nation in this regard.
It is EKONID’s task to report and inform companies
about the developments in the regulatory, legal and
procedural environment in Indonesia. Having been
working in this country and for EKONID since 1998,
I can testify that, despite some back clashes and
individual negative exceptions, the Indonesian society
as a whole, the people and the government, backed by
the free press, have achieved tremendous success in
the last two decades in its fight to limit and eradicate
corruption.
It is huge challenge to change a system in which giving
and taking is embedded on all levels of the bureaucracy
that will require more than a generation to cure.
In certain areas or businesses, companies are still
sometimes confronted with illegal requests for bribes,
kickbacks or facilitation payments. The decentralization
process in the beginning of this millennium has further
regionalized the problem of corruption. However, there
is a clear and strong consent within the Indonesian
society and especially among the younger generation
and the growing middle class that corrupt practices
must be abolished and its perpetrators punished.
The establishment and overall good performance
of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK),
a commission equipped with far reaching rights to
investigate and is supported by most of the general
public, the reform-oriented parts of the government,
and in collaboration with the free press and social
media, has increased awareness as well as perception
and, consequently, treatment of non-compliant
behavior in government and private institutions.
New technologies such as electronic accounting
and other e-administrative tools have increased
transparency significantly, while far reaching changes
in the international legal treatment and consequences
of companies as well as individual persons involved in
these practices have contributed as well.
It is my prediction that we are just in the beginning of
these positive developments and we will see even more
progress in the time to come.
Our Compliance Guide for Indonesia 2017, created in
close cooperation with our Law & Tax network partner
Schulz Noack Barwinkel (SNB), as well as a number of
EKONID’s German and Indonesianmember companies
that provided input from their daily practices and
experiences, should provide some guidance for
companies or individual managers on how to deal with
this matter. Compliance includes or touches a wide
range of individual and institutional behavior, from the
top to the bottom, of every organization.
We hope our guidance is of help to you.
Jan Rönnfeld
Managing Director of the German-Indonesian Chamber of
Industry and Commerce (EKONID)
