DPR gives conditional support to higher defense spending<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A commission of the House of Representatives
\n(DPR) yesterday said it backs the Armed Forces (ABRI) call for a
\n23 percent hike in military spending but stressed the need for
\nthe forces to eliminate graft among its members.<\/p>\n
The House's Commission I on defense and security said the
\nhigher budget should be used to improve the salaries of ABRI
\nmembers as one measure to end corruption.<\/p>\n
During a hearing with Vice Admiral Yusuf Effendi, director
\ngeneral of planning and budget of the Ministry of Defense and
\nSecurity, the commission said that ABRI's salary is too small
\nconsidering their responsibilities.<\/p>\n
Commission chief Aisyah Aminy said DPR backs the government's
\nreasoning that more money is needed to step up ABRI's ability to
\nperform early detection.<\/p>\n
\"The meager salaries have tempted ABRI members to get involved
\nin various forms of manipulation and corruption as the defense
\nand security minister has acknowledged,\" Aisyah said.<\/p>\n
The Defense and Security Ministry has proposed a budget of Rp
\n6.15 trillion ($2.9 billion) for the 1995\/96 fiscal year that
\nstarts in April. This represents a 23 percent increase.<\/p>\n
A number of DPR members said the meager salaries had led some
\nABRI members, including the police, to corrupt practices, about
\nwhich the public has often complained.<\/p>\n
Legislator Aminullah Ibrahim from the ABRI faction estimates
\nthat the average annual take-home pay of an Indonesian soldier
\nwas only US$1,800, the lowest in the Association of Southeast
\nAsian Nations (ASEAN) countries. By comparison, the average
\nannual net salary of a Malaysian soldier was as high as
\nUS$11,000.<\/p>\n
\"The small salary has tempted many ABRI members to turn to
\nillicit sources like collusion,\" he said, adding that a similar
\nallegation had been voiced in a similar meeting with Minister of
\nDefense and Security Minister Edi Sudrajat last week.<\/p>\n
Jansen Ibrahim Silaen from the government-backed Golkar said
\nlow salaries were partly to blame for poor police service.<\/p>\n
\"If a farmer seeks a policeman's help in finding his stolen
\ngoat, it usually costs him a buffalo,\" he said sarcastically.<\/p>\n
Director General Effendi said human resources development
\nwould receive a higher priority than material investment in the
\ncoming fiscal year.<\/p>\n
Defense spending has increased every year but its proportion
\nof the overall state budget is falling as the government focuses
\nmore on economic development, he said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's defense spending is now put at around 1.7 percent
\nof its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), he said.<\/p>\n
This year's defense budget of Rp 5 trillion is hardly
\nsufficient to fund maintenance and operation, field supplies and
\nhealth care.<\/p>\n
The tight budget has forced the military to give priority to
\nmaintenance of equipment needed for national security.<\/p>\n
\"Under current budget conditions, it's hard to imagine how
\nwe'll build a reliable defense system as stated in the 1993
\nGuidelines of State Policy,\" he said. (pan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/dpr-gives-conditional-support-to-higher-defense-spending-1447893297",
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