Lawmaker denies 'selling relief funds'<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A legislator, alleged to be involved in the scandalous \"sale\" of
\nstate budgets, said here on Thursday he had received budget
\nproposals from regents and mayors from more 40 regions because of
\nhis success rate in getting them accepted.<\/p>\n
Legislator Mudahir from the Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle (PDI-P) said the proposals were requests for 2005
\ndisaster aid in areas which were mostly outside of his
\nconstituency.<\/p>\n
\"I received a lot of proposals from (regional leaders) because
\nI'm a nice person. I help people, who said they were having
\ndifficulties getting to their representatives here,\" he said
\nafter being questioned by the House disciplinary body for over
\ntwo hours.<\/p>\n
Mudahir was elected in West Nusa Tenggara, an area which hit
\nthe headlines this year after severe malnutrition cases there
\ncame to light.<\/p>\n
Documents circulating in the House contain Mudahir's name as
\none of the \"coordinators\" of relief funds, as well as the name of
\nhis assistant in the House, A. Mustakim, who has not been seen
\nsince the scandal came to light a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n
Mudahir said he had entrusted Mustakim to examine the
\nproposals, which were directly submitted by regents and mayors in
\na number of meetings in the House and in Jakarta hotels. He had
\nlater followed them up with legislators.<\/p>\n
\"But I never asked for any money or fee or whatever. Neither
\ndid Mustakim that I know of. If he had sold (funds using) my
\nname, I would have been the first to report him to the police.
\nAll of his actions were under my control,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Despite this control, Mudahir said he did not know where
\nMustakim's house was when the disciplinary body asked questions
\nabout his whereabouts. He denied he was keeping Mustakim out of
\nsight but also said be believed Mustakim was still in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
The House body plans to question Mustakim on Monday,
\ndelivering a summons letter to him through Mudahir.<\/p>\n
Mudahir also denied joining a meeting with regents in South
\nSulawesi early this year. That meeting was earlier confirmed by
\nfellow PDI-P legislators Emir Moeis and Jacobus Mayong Padang,
\nwho said it was to familiarize the regents on the mechanisms of
\nstate budget disbursement.<\/p>\n
Disciplinary body chairman Slamet Effendi Yusuf said Mudahir
\nadmitted receiving budget proposals that were also compiled by
\n\"fellow legislators from the same floor\".<\/p>\n
Most of the names contained in circulating documents are
\nlegislators from the PDI-P, including Emir, the House budgetary
\ncommittee chairman.<\/p>\n
Slamet said Mustakim was not an assistant provided by the
\nHouse, but was appointed by Mudahir and received no regular
\nsalary.<\/p>\n
Mustakim is the son of a former regent of Sidrap in South
\nSulawesi, who is now a member of the local general elections
\ncommission.<\/p>\n
Slamet said, while he was visiting regions last week to
\ninvestigate the case, a regent told him that asking for fees were
\na common practice by House members.<\/p>\n
\"He said: 'If you ask them for funds with a verbal request,
\nyou get verbal responses. If you ask with papers, you get papers.
\nBut if you ask with 'that thing', that's what you get,'\" Slamet
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The illegal sale of disaster relief funds, allegedly involves
\nHouse budgetary committee members who reportedly ask for \"fees\"
\nfrom local officials to help increase the amount of the funds.<\/p>\n
The disciplinary body also quizzed on Thursday legislator
\nBursah Zarnubi, a deputy in the budgetary committee, over a
\ndocument authorizing the disbursement of Rp 284 billion (US$28.1
\nmillion) worth of disaster funds with his signature on it.<\/p>",
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