By Lynn Lee, Indonesia Correspondent

HERE in Indonesia, everyone knows that under-the-table cash can help you get what you want fast - from a state identity card to a permit to build your own house.

This is why Indonesia's graftbusters - having successfully snared the big guns who engage in dirty business - are now trying to nip this way of thinking in the bud.

Late last year, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) launched anti-corruption textbooks for kindergarten to secondary school students. Selected schools in Jakarta and Surabaya have been using them since last month.

Puzzles and fables star in the books for younger children, while the material for older students is more advanced.

A younger student may be asked this question: Your father gives you 100,000 rupiah (S$13) to buy something from the shop. The item costs 50,000 rupiah. But you see something you like and buy that as well, for 20,000 rupiah. How much change should you return to him?

Mr Haryono Umar, a KPK deputy commissioner, says: 'The simple answer is of course 30,000 rupiah. But the correct answer is 30,000 rupiah with a clear explanation of where the rest of the money went.'

Older students might be asked to research public services and evaluate how 'clean' they are.

The KPK hopes these lessons will be used by all schools eventually.

'We already investigate cases of corruption and try to get the money back...but we also need a broad effort to make sure the next generation doesn't go down that path in the first place,' Mr Haryono told The Straits Times.

This view stems from his belief that Indonesians grow up thinking that some level of corrupt behaviour is acceptable. He cites the popular Javanese childhood fable of Sang Kancil, a wily mousedeer which manipulates stronger animals in the jungle to save his own life.

'The message is that, if you want to be successful, it's okay to cheat,' he says.

Mr Rezki Sri Wibowo, the deputy secretary-general of Transparency International Indonesia and a former elementary school teacher, says students are exposed to corruption daily. For instance, they may see a friend bribing a policeman on the street to escape a penalty. Sometimes, corruption is present even in class.

'Unfortunately, teachers are not paid well and some may conduct extra classes and charge for those. Students who do not attend those classes may get poorer marks,' said Mr Rezki.

Transparency International has consistently placed Indonesia close to the bottom in its annual rankings of how corrupt countries are perceived to be. Last year, it improved slightly over its 2007 ranking, but still came in 126 on a list of 180 countries.

The future then seems to lie in classrooms in schools like the state-run High School3 in south Jakarta.

It is 8.30am on a Friday morning and the topic is moral eduction for a class of 15-year-olds. Public prosecutor Rahmad Purwianto is there to talk about corruption.

He explains that poverty is not a good enough reason to accept a bribe - it is also not right to pay someone to 'thank' them for their help. At the end of his talk, he gives them his mobile phone number.

'Call me if you have any questions, or if you want to ask me more about what corruption is,' he says, as 30 youngsters scramble to exit the room.

Down the hall stands the school's 'honesty canteen' - a KPK pilot project. There, stationery, T-shirts and candy - costing between 1,000 rupiah and 25,000 rupiah - are left in an unmanned booth for students to purchase. They have to put the money in an unlocked drawer and write down what they bought.

Teachers at High School3 say the results have generally been positive - there can be a deficit one week but the missing cash usually makes its way back to the drawer the following week.

Students like 16-year-old Adreansyah say it is a sign that the classes are working.

'We already learnt about honesty at home, but now we spend so much time in school and maybe we don't have time to talk to our parents that often,' he said. 'So the lessons motivate us and remind us to be good.'

The KPK's efforts have already won it a following, even among the young.

In its survey of more than 2,000 people last year, it found that over eight in 10 felt it was trustworthy. Only one in 10 said they trusted the Supreme Court.

Last year, Paramadina University third-year student Fhelycia Destiana, 19, signed up for its training programme to become an 'anti-corruption mentor'.

The scheme was started by the KPK to reach out to more schools in the community. She then spent three months last year at a high school, going there weekly to talk to students about how they could report instances of graft.

Others like her believe that education is the key to rooting out corrupt behaviour that is ingrained in society.

Sales manager Denny Gultom, who started the Facebook group KPK Watch as a forum to discuss the KPK's activities, wants the KPK to go further with anti-corruption education.

The 39-year-old thinks it should be part of university education with students getting credits for the classes, similar to how Pancasila, the country's ideology, used to be taught.

'That's what made it more grounded in our lives, and as a result, the principles have more impact on us.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.