An Indonesian city mayor incensed by poor discipline among his staff has sent more than 100 officials to a police boot camp in a novel move that may help tackle the country’s rampant corruption, an official said on Monday.
Fauzi Bahri, the mayor of the Sumatra island city of Padang, dispatched 115 regional leaders to the 10-day training course after they failed to meet standards of public service, a local spokesperson, Surya Budi, said.
Indonesian public servants are notorious for their indiscipline, often abusing their positions to augment poor salaries through corruption — a practice that has helped sully the country in the eyes of foreign investors.
New President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has declared a war on corruption to encourage foreign cash. Padang, among several towns that have jailed entire councils for graft, is seen as a flag-bearer for a new era of probity. — AFP