Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Social Pulse
Business Video
The Freeland File
Aerospace & Defense
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Campaign Polling
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Social Pulse
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Lipper Awards 2012
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (0)
Pictures
Editor's choice
Our best photos from the last 24 hours. Slideshow
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Britain warns Ecuador it could enter embassy to get Assange
15 Aug 2012
UPDATE 2-US hypersonic aircraft crashes seconds into military test flight
15 Aug 2012
Militants attack major Pakistan air base; 9 killed
|
4:18am EDT
Stylus, split-screen stand new Samsung tablet apart
2:25am EDT
Dallas mayor declares emergency over West Nile virus
15 Aug 2012
Discussed
138
Obama’s lead over Romney grows despite voters’ pessimism
122
Romney to announce vice presidential choice Saturday
94
Analysis: Are Israelis tough enough for a long war with Iran?
Sponsored Links
Pictures
Reuters Photojournalism
Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption
Life without sight
A glimpse at the lives of visually impaired children and adults. Slideshow
Quakes hit Iran
The aftermath of two powerful quakes in northwest Iran. Slideshow
Indonesia president says corruption threatens economic growth
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Analysis & Opinion
The productively disinflationary American worker
StanChart finds buffer against Asia slowdown risk
Related Topics
World »
Indonesia »
Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono talks during a news conference with Australia's Prime Minister Julia Gillard (not pictured) at the Northern Territory Parliament House in Darwin July 3, 2012.
Credit: Reuters/Daniel Hartley-Allen/Pool
By Olivia Rondonuwu
JAKARTA |
Thu Aug 16, 2012 2:12am EDT
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Thursday corruption is on the rise, even in parliament, in his most explicit comments yet on a scourge that he warned threatened economic growth in Southeast Asia's largest economy.
Corruption is widely seen as holding back the economy and Yudhoyono has been criticized for letting the fight against it slow as he comes towards the end of his second five-year term.
A series of corruption scandals have rocked the president's Democrat Party, weakening it in advance of elections in 2014 when Yudhoyono will step down.
"The drum of war on corruption should not dissipate. Corruption should be completely eradicated," Yudhoyono said in a speech to parliament ahead of the country's Independence Day anniversary.
"I have to admit there are still many perpetrators of corruption even in the government, parliament, regional representatives and among law enforcers," Yudhoyono said.
There are few estimates of how much corruption costs Indonesia but watchdog groups say it is prevalent in the civil service, police and judicial system and that it adds to business costs in part by weakening confidence in the rule of law.
Despite rampant graft, resource-rich Indonesia has become a favorite of emerging market investors because of its large domestic market as the world's fourth most populous country, rising middle class, relatively stable fiscal framework and low levels of public debt.
Economic growth picked up to a stronger-than-expected 6.4 percent last quarter, defying a global downturn because of domestic consumption and investment.
Yudhoyono's wide-ranging speech ahead of Independence Day was the latest in a series to touch on corruption.
He said cooperation between the anti-graft body the KPK, the Supreme Court, police and the Attorney General's office was paramount in fighting corruption.
Yudhoyono said the government must provide a safe legal environment for investors if it is to promote economic growth, as well as removing hurdles to investment and promoting infrastructure growth.
One analyst said he was skeptical that the speech signaled any real stiffening of government resolve on corruption.
"This speech is normative because if you say such things you have to show concrete examples. The president mentions extraordinary action to face corruption but there is no realization on the ground," said Donal Fariz of Indonesia Corruption Watch, a graft watchdog.
Europe's economic crisis also provided a threat to growth in Indonesia, and that the government needed to cautiously give a fiscal stimulus, though he did not give any details, Yudhoyono said.
Economists say the government needs to spend more to overhaul infrastructure to drive long-term growth, though central government spending usually falls below target because of corruption and bureaucratic inefficiency.
(Additional reporting by Aditya Suharmoko, Adriana Nina Kusuma and Rieka Rahadiana; Writing by Matthew Bigg; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)
World
Indonesia
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
AdChoices
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.