An article in today’s Jakarta Globe continues discussion about the absence of rule of law in Indonesia, and the detrimental effect this has on development.
The article refers to the Rule of Law Index Report 2014 released by the World Justice Project (on 5 March 2014), and observes from the report:
- "On the judiciary corruption index, Indonesia scored 0.34, lower than Ethiopia, which scored 0.35.”; and
- “… with respect to the level of corruption in the police or the military, Indonesia scored 0.37, alongside Afghanistan, which received the same rating".
The article quotes Hikmahanto Juwanto, law professor at the University of Indonesia, as saying “Were it not for that (the absence of rule of law), Indonesia, I believe, would have been five times as developed”. Looking to Indonesia’s South-East Asian peers, few would disagree with the premise.