PADANG, Indonesia: As Indonesia begins to rebuild after last week's earthquake,

questions are being asked about whether corruption and shoddy building standards
contributed to the catastrophe.

In the worst-hit city of Padang, hundreds of schools were among the thousands of
structures destroyed in the 7.6-magnitude quake which struck off the western coast of
Sumatra last Wednesday.

Around a quarter of the city's buildings were flattened and almost all structures
suffered at least superficial damage.

The official death toll from the Indonesian government stands at about 650, but the
United Nations says the number is closer to 1,100 and estimates go as high as 5,000.

"There are no local government regulations to ensure buildings in Padang are

constructed to withstand quakes," construction contractor Akbari told AFP.

"The problem is new building contractors only care about profiting from these
projects. They failed to construct buildings fit enough to withstand quakes."

West Sumatra Governor Gamawan Fauzi admitted the government needed to improve
the quality of construction in the city of almost one million people, which lies near
one of the most volatile seismic fault lines in the world.

Seismologists agree that Padang will face more earthquakes in future, and warn that a
much larger quake with far greater destructive force is inevitable in the region.

"We need to implement new regulations in the future, or at least make the criteria to
obtain a building permit stricter," Fauzi said. "We have to realise that West Sumatra is
prone to disaster."

Public facilities such as malls, hospitals and schools built in Padang are supposed to
be able to withstand magnitude-eight earthquakes, he said.

"What's lacking is enforcement," said Dewi Fortuna Anwar of the Indonesian Institute
of Sciences, which has conducted training activities with the government on how to
handle earthquakes.

"The government must stipulate clear and proper building guidelines and ensure that
builders comply to the rules."

Indonesian Red Crescent secretary-general Djazuli Ambari said corruption, not just
poor enforcement, was to blame for much of the damage wrought by the latest quake
to hit the Southeast Asian archipelago.

"There's so much corruption in Indonesia ... Money is available and it shouldn't be a

problem building houses with strong foundations, but unfortunately it's been
misused," he said.
"Those who suffer from corruption are the people. Life is precious and people
shouldn't die because of the government's mismanagement."

Padang resident Sribersihwati, 30, suspected that many buildings collapsed because
corrupt officials and builders profited by breaking construction standards.

"That's why builders can get away with using low-quality materials. Why do you
think so many major buildings collapsed so easily?" she said.

Education ministry secretary-general Dodi Nandika said a staggering 887 school

buildings had been destroyed by the quake, causing an unknown number of children
to lose their lives.

But he denied that corruption had contributed to the disaster.

"The quake had close to 8.0 magnitude. It was huge. Even buildings beside schools
were destroyed," he said.

Australian seismologist Gary Gibson warned that one day, Padang and the towns
surrounding it would be rocked by a far larger earthquake.

"This quake wasn't even on the Australian-Indian plate boundary. It ducked

underneath the Asian plate," Gibson said. "That means it was big, but nowhere near as
big as one on the plate boundary would be."

"Australia is moving north 70 millimetres (2.8 inches) a year. That means every
hundred years it's moving seven metres (23 feet), which is what's causing all of this.

"You can expect an enormous quake in the region at least every 100 years, although
we don't know when it's going to hit."