Governor rejects police's proposal for more funds<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso rejected on Wednesday the
\npossibility of granting more money to the city police for
\nadditional operational expenditures.<\/p>\n
While insisting that the police's financing is not the
\nresponsibility of the city administration, Sutiyoso said that
\nallocating additional funds to the city police force would be
\ninappropriate.<\/p>\n
"The responsibility of financing the city police's operational
\nexpenditures is in the National Police's hands, not ours.<\/p>\n
"We, the city administration, only act as a contributor," he
\ntold reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony at the Jakarta
\nFair grounds in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, celebrating the
\nestablishment of the Jakarta contingent for the 15th National
\nGames (PON) in Surabaya next month.<\/p>\n
Sutiyoso was commenting on Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen.
\nNurfaizi's request to the city councillors on Tuesday to help
\npersuade the city administration to increase its financial
\nassistance to the city police.<\/p>\n
The governor said that the city administration would only bear
\nthe responsibility of subsidizing the city police's activities
\nand operations once regional autonomy was put into effect some
\ntime next year.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, he said, the minimum financial support the police
\nnow received from the city administration should not make them
\n"lower" the quality of their public services.<\/p>\n
"Don't make it (the minimum budget) an excuse for not doing a
\ngood job," he said.<\/p>\n
In a hearing on city security programs at the City Council on
\nTuesday, Nurfaizi asked for an increase in the city
\nadministration's financial assistance. The current budget of Rp
\n900 million (US$105,882) was apparently not enough.<\/p>\n
"We contribute some Rp 6 billion a day to the city
\nadministration via driver's licenses, vehicle taxes and other
\nrevenues. So, why do we receive only Rp 900 million, a small
\npercentage of our contribution a year?" he asked city
\ncouncillors.<\/p>\n
Without mentioning on how much the police should get, Nurfaizi
\nsaid the current budget would not be enough to finance the
\noperational expenditures for 18,000 police officers in Greater
\nJakarta areas.<\/p>\n
Adrianus Meliala, a criminologist from the University of
\nIndonesia (UI), shared Sutiyoso's statement, saying that the
\npolice chief's request was irrelevant.<\/p>\n
"It is their (the police's) obligation to provide services to
\nthe public. City police should be grateful with the city
\nadministration, which has regularly contributed money for police
\noperational expenditures, especially because they are not obliged
\nto do so," Meliala said in a telephone interview with The Jakarta
\nPost on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
"Police can complain later once regional autonomy has been
\nestablished if the city administration does not provide proper
\nfinancial assistance for police expenditures," he said.<\/p>\n
He also stated that the police could later question the city
\nadministration about its high expectations regarding police
\nperformance in return for the contributions.<\/p>\n
"But to ask for an increased budget while it is currently
\nunder the supervision of the National Police is really
\ninappropriate," he said. (09)<\/p>",
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