Latief queried over misuse of funds<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief and the state-
\nowned workers' social insurance company PT Jamsostek came under
\nscrutiny yesterday for allegedly allocating Rp 7.1 billion
\n(US$2.15 million) of the company's money for House of
\nRepresentatives' legislators who deliberated the manpower bill.<\/p>\n
Copies of documents made available to The Jakarta Post
\nyesterday say that, upon Latief's request, Jamsostek disbursed
\nthe funds for 44 legislators who joined a House special committee
\ndeliberating the bill.<\/p>\n
According to the documents, the insurance company was
\noriginally asked by the ministry to earmark Rp 5.1 billion. A
\nJuly 21 letter from an official at the Ministry of Manpower, Yudo
\nSwasono, says that Latief informally asked for an additional Rp
\n2.1 billion.<\/p>\n
Two Jamsostek commissioners, Sophar Lumbantorian and Suwarto,
\napproved the request for the extra money in a letter dated July
\n25.<\/p>\n
The funds were transferred from Jamsostek's bank, Bank Agro,
\nto Yudo and Sumarni, an official of the House, in several
\nremittances between June and July. One of the documents says the
\nfunds were given to the legislators as \"session money\".<\/p>\n
The 1992\/1997 House, whose term ended on Sept. 30, passed the
\ncontroversial bill on Sept. 11 after two months of deliberation.
\nLobbying and extra meetings were held during a House recess,
\nincluding those held in a hotel in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The government will wait until Oct. 1 next year to enact the
\nbill into law to prepare necessary supporting regulations.<\/p>\n
Both Latief and Jamsostek director general Abdillah Nusi
\nrefused to comment yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"Don't ask me. Ask the Jamsostek director general. What do I
\nknow?\" Latief told reporters after a press conference on a plan
\nto disburse Jamsostek's funds worth Rp 3 trillion for small-scale
\nbusinesses at his office.<\/p>\n
As of this month, more than 12.2 million people who work in
\n74,174 private and state companies have joined the Jamsostek
\nprogram. More than 2.2 million workers are registered policy
\nholders through the special program under, among other things,
\ngubernatorial decrees.<\/p>\n
Its assets totaled Rp 5.6 trillion as of Sept. 30, 1997, a
\n22.14 percent increase from last year.<\/p>\n
Muhsin Bafadal, a United Development Party legislator who was
\na member of the House committee deliberating the bill, said he
\ndid not know anything about the financial support.<\/p>\n
\"We were never informed of this matter during the
\ndeliberation. It's true that I received some money due to my
\nparticipation in the committee, but it was not much. The amount
\nwas in accordance to House rules,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said if Jamsostek did earmark the funds, it was not the
\nHouse's business. \"The government may have spent a lot of money
\nbecause we stayed in a hotel for more than one and a half months
\nto deliberate the bill,\" he said. (09\/rid\/amd)<\/p>",
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