Page 248 - BUKU STRENGTHENING THE INDONESIAN PARLIAMENTARY DIPLOMACY FADLI ZON

GOPAC finding reveals that corruption flourishes where institutions of governance are weak,
where government’s policy and regulatory regime provide scope for it, and where oversight
institutions (e.g. parliament, judiciary, civil society) are marginalized or have become corrupted.
1
A similar finding was then released in 2012 by Routledge Research: that corruption flourishes
not only in condition of weak public institutions but also of poverty. 2

THE STATE OF PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHT

This has led us to a question about the state of our parliamentary oversight today in terms of
controlling corruption. In 2013, Transparency International found that two-thirds of parliament
fail to be the watchdog of defense corruption. At about 85% of parliaments lack effective
scrutiny of defense policy. The global cost of such corruption is estimated at around US$ 20
billion per annum.
3

This is just one sector, where parliament should have more control in the budgetary spending
of a State. We cannot imagine how much money that are wasted, lost, stolen and corrupted in
others field of development as the result of the weak and ineffective parliamentary oversight.

THE ROLE OF GOPAC

As the international network of parliamentarians, GOPAC believes that improving the capacity
of parliamentarians as well as strengthening the oversight system is crucial. But it is not
something without challenges.

Parliament is, in its very nature, a political institution. It is the place of parliamentarians with
various ideological and political, views, backgrounds as well as stance. It therefore, requires
an international network that is non-partisan to provide support for any parliamentarians and
parliaments throughout the world.

Our vision is to achieve accountability and transparency through effective anti-corruption
mechanism and inclusive participation and cooperation between parliamentarians, government
and civil society.

We are working to provide support for parliamentarians who are genuinely wish to combat
corruption in all aspects at both levels: national and international levels.

1 GOPAC, the World Bank, and Parliamentary Centre of Canada, Controlling Corruption: A Parliamen
tarian’s Handbook, August 2005, page: 21, https://www.agora-parl.org/sites/default/files/cch_final_
aug_05_eng.pdf
2 Pelizzo, Riccardo and Stapenhurst, Frederick, Parliamentary Oversight Tools, a comparative analysis,
(London, New York, Routledge: 2012), page 77.
3 https://www.transparency.org/news/pressrelease/two_thirds_of_parliaments_fail_to_be_watchdogs_of_
defence_corruption

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