One of the biggest risks facing Timor-Leste as a country currently is that corruption practices are starting to happen everywhere in East Timorese society. Corruption is currently being carried out by ordinary people, vendors, and government officials, or through maladministration in education institutions, and the public and private sectors.

People are committing corruption in different ways and committing different types of corruption.

Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perception Index, considers Timor-Leste as a country that must act now to stem the flow of corruption. In 2013, the country ranked 118^th on the Index, from the 172 countries surveyed by TI.

The implementation of government programs in Timor-Leste faces significant corruption problems. This leads to challenges and obstacles to social and economic development that will result in bringing difficulties to people’s lives. It has the potential to pollute our country’s dignity and undermine the moral integrity of good governance in a political context.

But a big factor that contributes to corrupt practices is from ourselves: the times where we are greedy to achieve a better life quickly without putting in the hard effort, or where basic education in the home does not translate to living with honesty and dignity, or where we seek opportunity through weakness in morality.

After the Anti-Corruption Commission was established, senior management made the conscious decision to expand the mandated missions of corruption prevention and investigations to also include two additional missions: education and research. CAC has put its attention on education because we think it is important to call upon every the conscience of every East Timorese through seminars that gather community leaders, veterans, women’s organization, youth groups, political parties, educators, students and religious workers.

But we mustn’t seek to only prevent corruption now; we also need to look to the future.

This is why we are conducting awareness seminars for the younger generation. They are the future of the country, so we must focus on strengthening their moral character through education, modifying the youth mentality to anticipate and prevent corruption from occurring.

These character expectations can be integrated in education curriculum or inserted into extracurricular programs. To meet that objective, CAC has established valuable collaborative relationships with schools and universities to execute our education outreach programs. This is best shown through our work with universities.

Why focus on educating university students?

Put simply, the contributions of university students in the past, the present and in the future will always lead to a better life for Timor-Leste’s people.

In the 1970s, university students played a vital role in the past in liberating Timor-Leste from colonialism and foreign military oppression. And although today Timor-Leste is an independent country, we are still calling upon the contributions of university students.

The fight of the present is the fight to eradicate corruption.

We are hoping that university students can become the agents of change and transformation; an anti-corruption movement that acts as an example to the broader community by implementing the values of anti-corruption in their daily lives.

Through their actions – like the Movement of University Students against Corruption – students can show how attitudes grounded in honesty, integrity and responsibility trumps the older generational acceptance of a corrupt attitude.

A stronger Timor-Leste will be supported by generation that is actively detecting and not giving any inch of opportunity to acts like corruption, collusion and nepotism. That is why we are going into universities and holding workshops, like the one we did in April for over 200 Economics students at UNTL.

Although eradicating corruption is important this is not the only goal, the new generation’s hearts and minds must advocate for integrity. With integrity, all East Timorese can make our country stronger and live up to the dreams of those Freedom Fighters who died for us during our liberation; An independent Timor-Leste free from the shackles of corruption.

Final words                   

Whether Timor-Leste can liberate people from the pressures and intimidation of corruption will become a determining factor in its prosperity. But how can CAC help people, and how can society help itself? CAC can educate teachers, community leaders, veterans, and particularly students as the next generation. Over time, it will be shown that CAC’s current civic education program will be an effective tool in the fight against corruption.

And for society, people must support a culture of ‘saying no to corruption’ from home to school. Eradicating corruption cannot be done through law enforcement only and by sending those that are corrupt to jail. It also requires the use of information and knowledge, paired with the use of the power of our younger generations – such as the university movement – a reminder to Timorese  leaders of why we must fight corruption (*)

Risku boot ida ne’ebé oras ne’e nasaun Timor-Leste hasoru mak kazu korrupsaun akontese iha sosiedade Timorense nia le’et. Korrupsaun oras ne’e hahu husi povu bain-bain, vendedores, ofisial governu nian, ka liu husi mal-administrasaun iha instituisaun edukasaun, seitor públiku no privadu sira.

Ema sira komete korrupsaun iha dalan diferente no komete ho tipu korrupsaun diferente.

Transparency International (TI) Indeks Persepsaun Korrupsaun, konsidera nasaun Timor-Leste (TL) nudar nasaun ida tenki halo aksaun hodi hapara korrupsaun nian sulin. Iha tinan 2013, nasaun TL nian ranking 118 iha indeks, husi 172 nasaun sira ne’ebé hetan survey husi TI.

Implementasaun programa Governo iha sociedade TL,  infrenta   problema korrupsaun ne’ebé  signifikativu. Ida  ne’e sai henesan dezafiu no obstakulu  ba progresu dezenvolvimentu  ekonomia no sosial  nebe sei difikulta povu nia moris. Ida ne’e iha potensia atu hafoer estadu nia dignidade no hamate integridade moral iha kontekstu politika no boa governasaun.

Naibe fator boot ida ba kontribuisaun pratika korrupsaun mak hahu husi a’an rasik, iha tempu ne’ebé ita kanten ba hetan moris diak lalais la ho hikis kosar ben tuir edukasaun baziku uma laran nian hodi tane a’as onestidade no moris ho dignu maske kiak. Fator seluk mak oportunidade no moral fraku.

Hafoin estabelesimentu CAC ne’ebé Nai Ulun CAC nian forma no dezenvolve Planu Estratejiku ne’ebé define tan misaun rua mak; Edukasaun (kampanha) ho Peskiza. CAC tau atensaun ba edukasaun tamba ida ne’e importante tebes atu bolu Timor oan sira nian konsiensia liu husi halibur lideres komunitáriu, veteranus, organisasaun feto no jovens, partidus polítiko, profesóres, estudantes no  konfisoens religiosos.

Maibe ita tenki ser laos ona esforsu atu prevene deit korrupsaun agora, maibe ita mos presija atu hateke ba iha future.

Tamba ne’e mak ita halao seminariu konsiensializasaun ba jerasaun nurak sira. Sira mak future nasaun, nune’e ita tenki focus ba hametin sira nian katakter moral liu husi edukasaun, modifika mentalidade joven sira nian atu antisipa no prevene korrupsaun akontese.

Espetativa karakter hirak ne’e bele integra iha kurikulum edukasaun ka bele hatama iha programa esktrakurikuler. Atu atinji objetivu ne’e, Comissão Anti-Corrupção (CAC) estabelese ona relasaun kolaborativu diak ho eskola ho universidade sira atu ekzekuta CAC nian programa Edukasaun no Peskiza. Ida ne’e diak liu hatudu CAC nian serbisu ho universidade sira.

Tamba sa fokus ba eduka universitariu sira?

Simplis, kontribuisaun universitariu sira iha pasadu, Ohin no iha Futuru sei sempre lao ba povu TL nian moris diak.

Durante tinan 1970-an, universitariu sira halo parte importante iha pasadu hodi liberta rai doben TL husi kolonializmu no opresaun military estranjeiru. No ohin loron maske TL hamrik ona hanesan nasaun independente ida, ita bolu nafatin universitariu sira nian kontribuisaun. Tamba, luta loron ohin nian mak luta atu kombate korrupsaun.

Ita espera katak universitariu sira bele sai ajente mudansa no transformasaun; movimentu anti-korrupsaun ida nudar izemplu diak ba komunidade tomak hodi aplika valores anti-korrupsaun iha sira nian moris loron-loron.

Liu husi sira nian asaun – hanesan Movimentu Universitariu kontra Korrupsaun – estudnte sir abele hatudu oin sa atetude ho vertude haraik an iha onestidade, integridade no responsabilidade hodi hatudu ba jerasaun tuan ho atetude korruptu.

Timor-Leste ida forte sei hetan suporta husi jerasaun ne’ebé ativamente detekta no la fo kualker oportunidade inch ida ba aktu ida hanesan korrupsaun, kolusaun no nepotismu. Tamba ne’e mak CAC ba tama iha universidade sira no halao seminaries, hanesan saida mak CAC halo iha fulan Abril ba universitariu liu 200 iha Fakuldade Eskonomia Universidade Nasional de Timor-Lorosa’e (UNTL).

Maske kombate korrupsaun importante duni mais objetivu laos ida ne’e deit, presija kuda metin iha jerasaun foun nian fuan laran no hanoin tenki advokasia an no hametin an ba integridade. Ho integridade, Timor oan hotu bele halo Timor-Leste sai forte liu tan no konkretija mehi Asswai’n Lutador sira ne’ebe mout ba rai ida ne’e durante ita nian Luta Libertasaun Nasional;  MATE KA MORIS UKUN RASIK AN – LA HO KORRUPSAUN.

Lia Fuan Ikus

Katak Timor-Leste bele liberta povu husi presaun no intimidasaun korrupsaun sei sai fator determinasaun ida iha TL nian prosperiedade. Maibe oin sa CAC bele tulun povu, no oin sa sosiedade bele tulun an rasik? CAC bele eduka edukador sira, lider komunitariu, veteranus, no partikularmente estudantes nudar jerasaun tuir mais. Liu ida ne’e, ida ne’e sei hatudu katak CAC nian programa edukasaun civika oras ne’e sei sai meius efektivu iha luta kontra korrupsaun.

No ba sosiedade, povu tenki suporta kultura ida “hateten lae ba korrupsaun” husi uma to’o ba iha eskolas. Kombate korrupsaun la halo liu husi supremasaun lei deit no lori sira ne’ebé korruptu ba komarka. Ita ne’e rekere mos uza informasaun no konesementu, hapar mos ho uza forsa jerasaun foun – hanesan movimentu universidade – fo hanoin hikas ida ba lideransa Timorense tamba sa ita tenki luta kontra korrupsaun. (*)

“Ita rasik mak responsabiliza ba dezenvolvimentu ita nian Nasaun no Salva Guarda Rikusoi ba moris diak povu nian.”

Dala wain Comissão Anti-Corupção (CAC) halao seminariu, ka ba distritu ida husi distritus 13 iha Timor-Leste, ida ne’e mak CAC nian mensajen.

CAC hakarak official governu no funsionariu públiku atu iha espiritu nasionalizmu no patriotizmu foun ida iha era Timor-Leste independente, atu servi povu ho honestidade, akuntabilidade no transparansia. Tamba ne’e mak CAC halao seminariu lubun balun iha teritoriu tomak, halibur ema hamutuk nain 31.00 ne’ebé barak liu envolve funsionariu públiku.

Maibe sa esensia mak espiritu nasionalizmu ho patriotizmu foun iha kontekstu anto-korrupsaun?

Ne’e katak responsabilidade husi funsionariu públiku atu la uza sira nian pozisaun – tantu nudar ministru ida, direitur jeral ida, manajer ka official approvizionamentu ida – ba benefisia sira an rasik, sira nian familia no ema seluk.

Funsionariu públiku halao papel importante hodi maneija rikusoi Estadu.  Sira nian area responsabilidade boot wain hodi maneija return husi rekursus naturais, atu determina nesesidade edukasaional ba ita nian oan sira, oferese uma no ambiente seguru ba povu sira ne’ebé presija.

Iha halao sira nian servisu, funsionariu públiku iha responsabilidade moral atu implementa mehi ita nian heroe sira – ne’ebé mate durante ita nian luta ba libertasaun nasional kontra kolonializmu no okupasaun military estranjeiru – la ho korrupsaun.

Espetativa povu nian mak funsionariu públiku utiliza rikusoi Estadu ho responsabilidade no komunidade sei kondena wainhira sira utiliza patrimoniu Estadu ba sira nia an rasik, familia no sira nian grupu. Maibe, laos komunidade deit mak sei kondena aktu korrupsaun.

Survey ida ne’ebé halao husi CAC ba funsionariu públiku liu 1.400 tinan kotuk hatudu malorek tebes katak servisu públiku hakarak hadian  no iha mudansa ba komunidade Timor oan sira nian diak. kuaze funsionariu públiku hetan intervista hotu ho nakloke no hakarak hetan treinamentu ka edukasaun kona-ba tekniku prevensaun anti-korrupsaun.

Survey ne’e hetan no relata iha naksalak barak mak presija hadian, hametin prevensaun, hadian prosesu tenderizasaun, hasa’e konsiensia kona-ba standarte konduta no eleva kondisaun servisu.

Survey ida ne’e tulun inform aba CAC nian treinamentu tinan ne’e, hanesan CAC buka hela atu tulun funsionariu públiku atu pratika tekniku manajementu diak ho transparansia. Toma konta ba mudansa institusional ida laos servisu fasil, maibe CAC fiar metin katak funsionariu públiku loron ida sei atinji.

Atu suporta servisu CAC nian ba servisu públiku, CAC liu husi nian “manu-ain” sira mos koalia ho veteran sira, seitor privadu, ONG, no lider komunitariu kona-ba oinsa sira bele halo parte tuir sira nian parte ba kontra korrupsaun iha sira nian moris loron-loron.

Prevene korrupsaun no promove governasaun diak no mo’os, sei tulun lori prosperiedade ba povu no, espera iha future bele lori Estrada diak, asesu diak ba be mo’os, edukasaun diak ba ita nian oan sira no hasai ita Timor oan sira husi kiak no mukit.

Servisu ema idak-idak nian iha nasaun ne’e mak posibiliza prosperiedade Timor-Leste atu moris buras diak no labele fo fatin ba fini Korrupsaun, Kolusaun no Nepotizmu (KKN) falun ita.

Dala ruma ita hanoin fasil liu atu ita la halo buat ida no kontinua lao iha dalan ida hanesan, no esforsu atu responsabiliza no halo buat ruma ne’ebé los. Maibe, wainhira to’o iha korrupsaun ita labele foti mentalidade ne’ebé hanesan.

Nune’e, iha dalan rua ba future Timor-Leste: ida povu (kiak) la asesu ba nesesidade baziku tamba korrupsaun, no ida iha ne’ebé ita kontra korrupsaun atu suporta prosperiedade. Dalan responsabilidade ida ne’ebé mak ita boot (nudar Timor oan) hili? (*)