Councillors seek pension funding<\/p>\n
Yuli Tri Suwarni and Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post,
\nBandung\/Bandarlampung<\/p>\n
Provincial councillors have started to demand hundreds of
\nmillions of rupiah in pension funding for each of them, as they
\nwill end their five-year terms next year.<\/p>\n
The requests were made five months ahead of the 2004 general
\nelections amid widespread instances of corruption involving many
\nmembers of legislative councils across the country.<\/p>\n
In Bandung, 100 members of the West Java legislative council
\nare each seeking to obtain up to Rp 350 million (US$41,176) in
\npension funding from the 2004 provincial budget.<\/p>\n
Councillor Reza Nasrullah said on Wednesday that 25 budget
\ncommittee members and six faction leaders in the council filed a
\nproposal for the pension funding during a meeting last week.<\/p>\n
"In the meeting, councillors from the Justice Party proposed
\nonly Rp 50 million, while many others proposed Rp 350 million.
\nSome other council members even suggested Rp 2 billion," he told
\nThe Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Reza, however, said the budget committee had agreed to discuss
\nallocations of Rp 50 million to Rp 350 million proposed for
\npension funding.<\/p>\n
The proposal came via all 100 council members, who were facing
\na graft probe by the West Java Prosecutor's Office into their
\nalleged role in a Rp 25 billion budget irregularity. The funds
\nhad been allocated to help build houses for the councillors.<\/p>\n
It was also ironic that the request was made while around nine
\nmillion, or 25 percent, of some 37 million people in West Java
\nwere living under conditions of poverty.<\/p>\n
Most councillors in the country's most populous province
\nappeared to support the proposal, claiming they deserved the
\npension funding as they had worked hard to serve the public since
\n1999.<\/p>\n
In 2002, West Java council issued a regulation on retirement
\nallowances for its members.<\/p>\n
As part of their efforts to press ahead with their request to
\nget pension funding at least 31 councillors made a comparative
\nstudy to Central Java and East Java.<\/p>\n
"The Central Java legislative council reckons to allocate Rp
\n100 million in retirement allowance for each of its own members,"
\nsaid a councillor from West Java, who declined to be named.<\/p>\n
Similarly, the 75-member legislative council of Lampung also
\nsought retirement allowances of Rp 200 million for each of its
\nmembers next year.<\/p>\n
The demand was based on Regulation No. 4\/2000 on the
\ncomposition of regional finance, which the council enacted three
\nyears ago, along with the Lampung administration.<\/p>\n
In 1999, each local councillor received Rp 50 million upon
\nretirement, or almost 10 percent of the provincial income.<\/p>\n
"In 1999 alone, when Lampung's income was only Rp 70 billion,
\nthe pension fund for each councillor was Rp 50 million.
\nTherefore, it's to be expected that as our income has now reached
\nRp 200 billion, we are asking for pension funding of Rp 200
\nmillion each," council speaker Abbas Hadisunyoto said on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
"It's not corruption as it is covered under existing
\nregulations," he argued.<\/p>\n
On average, councillors in Lampung, West Java and other
\nprovinces receive a total of more than Rp 20 million in monthly
\ntake-home pay, which includes various allowances.<\/p>\n
Lampung Parliament Watch coordinator Tisnanta slammed the
\npension funding request, saying it was a "systematic crime" on
\nthe part of councillors to make themselves richer.<\/p>\n
"Although it is covered in the regional regulations, a request
\nfor pension funding is merely a trick by councillors to enrich
\nthemselves," said Trisnanta, who is a legal expert from the
\nUniversity of Lampung.<\/p>\n
Anti-Corruption Committee (Koak) executive director Sahlan
\nMahbub said the pension funding proposal could be categorized as
\ncorruption.<\/p>\n
"The indications are clear that councillors are proposing,
\ndiscussing and deciding regulations on pension funding
\nthemselves. They could be charged with graft if they received
\nsuch money from the budget," he said.<\/p>",
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