JAKARTA, Dec. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- To display his determination to end the widespread corrupt practices, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has launched an anti-graft campaign by issuing anational action plan last week.

    By signing the Presidential Instruction No. 5/2004, Susilo called upon all state officials to avoid family businesses and ensure transparency in all state affairs.

    "The level of corruption in our country is very alarming, and Iurged every state official to lead by example in fighting corruption," the president said in his speech marking the kick-offof the national anti-corruption campaign.

    Meanwhile, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) signed an agreement with all 33 provincial governors of the country, under which all provincial chiefs pledged to report their wealth and support the KPK's endeavor to avoid and curb corrupt practicesin their corresponding regions.

    During the legislative and presidential elections from April 5 to Sept. 5, the issue of corruption became the focus of people's talking and of all public mass media. Some analysts believed that one of the factors that made former president Megawati Soekarnoputri lose her chance for re-election was her weak performance in anti-graft.

    Committing himself to eradicating corruption has been Susilo's major topic during the elections and after he took the presidency on Oct. 20 this year. To show his resolve, he issued a presidential decree and ordered the KPK and other related departments to act.

    The first important step was the recent detention of Abdullah Puteh, provincial governor of Aceh, the westernmost and trouble-ridden province of this country.

    Puteh's problem appeared almost one year ago when Indonesia wasstill under the Megawati administration. But Puteh retained his post as the governor when one-year martial law ended in the province on May 19 this year and turned into a civilian emergency.

    Due to strong public demand, President Susilo has agreed to suspend Puteh as soon as possible as he is likely to become a defendant in court.

    KPK chairman Taufiqurrahman Ruki revealed recently that his commission had asked the president to suspend every state officialas soon as they had been declared suspects in any corruption case.This is really new in this country as people recalled that in the past some officials who had been put on the dock and even had beensentenced for jail, but they had never been removed from their posts.

    "We have all the legal weapons needed to end corrupt practices and we urge the president to suspend state officials who have beendeclared suspects in corruption cases," the KPK leader was quoted as saying by the local press.

    At the same time, presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng disclosed that Susilo had just signed letters allowing police and prosecutors to question two provincial governors, six parliament members and some other city mayors.

    According to a recent report from Britain, former Indonesian president Suharto's eldest daughter, Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, bettered known as "Tutut" in this country, was implicated in arms deal in the mid-1990's which allegedly involved 16.5 million pounds (some 31.9 million US dollars) in bribes as to secure 160 million pound sale of Scorpion tanks from a leading British arms company. This revelation has been limelighted in Indonesia. The Suharto family has been listed as the most corrupt state leader inthe world by some international organizations, but the former president has not been put under justice due to his "poor health" since his fall in 1998. Enditem