Megawati rejects interpellation motion<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)
\nchairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri has asked members of the
\nparty's faction in the House of Representatives to avoid
\nexercising their right of interpellation concerning the Rp 30
\nbillion presidential donation she made to the Indonesian Military
\n(TNI).<\/p>\n
\"The chairwoman has clearly ordered that the case be probed by
\na House commission hearing, not by exercising the right of
\ninterpellation,\" the party's deputy secretary general Agnita
\nSingadikane told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Agnita declined to say whether Megawati, who is also the
\nPresident, was prohibiting the party's legislators from joining
\n28 fellow House members from other factions who have proposed to
\nthe House leaders a motion seeking a presidential clarification
\nabout the source of the donation.<\/p>\n
Megawati, Agnita said, had briefed PDI Perjuangan members
\nabout the case and asked them not to make a fuss about it.<\/p>\n
Megawati extended the money in February for the rehabilitation
\nof housing occupied by families of TNI and National Police rank
\nand file members.<\/p>\n
State\/Cabinet Secretary Bambang Kesowo has explained that the
\nmoney was taken from the Presidential Aid Fund, known as Banpres
\nin Indonesian, an off-state budget fund introduced by former
\npresident Soeharto in 1970.<\/p>\n
Last week, the chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency, Satrio B.
\nJudono, said the use of the fund for a presidential donation was
\nimproper. In response to the statement, Bambang Kesowo said he
\nwould clarify the issue during a hearing with House Commission I
\nfor security and political affairs as soon the House reassembled
\nin May.<\/p>\n
Collecting money for non-budgetary funds from state-owned
\ncompanies was stopped in 1995 and since she ascended as President
\nin July last year, Megawati has said she had decided to stop all
\nuse of such funds.<\/p>\n
Presidential Decree No.4\/2000 issued by former president
\nAbdurrahman Wahid stipulates that all non-budgetary funds should
\nbe incorporated into the state budget, and that their
\ndisbursement must be approved by the Minister of Finance.<\/p>\n
During the three decades of the Soeharto regime, trillions of
\nrupiah had been raised through the Presidential Assistance Fund
\nscheme. The BPK reported that the fund had been reduced to only
\nRp 540 billion in 2000, and that only Rp 330 billion was left in
\n2002.<\/p>\n
Vice President Hamzah Haz admitted on Friday that some of the
\nPresidential Assistance Fund had been used to finance various
\nsocial activities of both the President and Vice President.<\/p>\n
\"But I can assure you that the money is still there and the
\nfund has been undergoing reorganization as regards its status and
\nusage,\" Hamzah said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawati-rejects-interpellation-motion-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}