For over six decades, the potential and image of resource-rich Indonesia have been blighted by corruption. While corruption is considered a norm by much of Indonesian society, some citizens, like Teten Masduki, have chosen to fight back against it.
A high school teacher, Teten1 became a labor rights activist after witnessing gross injustices to workers. In 1998, just after President Suharto stepped down, Teten founded the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW). Under his leadership, ICW became a clearing house for whistle-blowing on corruption, cronyism, and nepotism, making its mark with several high-profile corruption cases.
In 2009, Teten joined Transparency International (TI) as secretary-general of its Indonesian chapter, where he went beyond individual casework to focus on the larger picture of the processes, regulations, and education needed to fight corruption.
In 2012, inspired by the rise of good, clean leaders such as Joko Widodo, Teten made the decision to enter politics. Today, he is the presidential chief of staff in the Indonesian government, taking his fight against corruption to a whole new level.
