While corruption was a fact of life during over three decades of rule by the dictator Suharto, it has gotten a lot worse since Suharto was overthrown in 1997. The democratically elected successors to Suharto have not been able to establish the same degree of control over the corrupt politicians and local leaders. Foreign investors are not willing to put up with this degree of corruption and are staying away. In Aceh, rebel violence left seven more dead.
