Money talks in April ballot printing projects<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Alleged corruption, collusion and nepotism in the printing of
\nballots for the legislative election are unraveling as the
\nGeneral Elections Commission (KPU) prepares for the country's
\nfirst direct presidential election, which falls in less than two
\nweeks.<\/p>\n
A senior executive of a winning company said they had to
\nprovide \"fees\" to KPU members in charge of ballot printing even
\nafter the commission had made public the results of the April 5
\nlegislative election.<\/p>\n
The executive, who requested anonymity, said extra fees were
\nnecessary to speed up the payment process from the KPU for the
\nprinting job.<\/p>\n
\"Just give those in charge of the ballot printing extra money,
\nit is common,\" he said, but did not reveal the sum that exchanged
\nhands.<\/p>\n
A broker from another firm found to have subcontracted its
\nprinting job, also acknowledged that money was involved in
\nspeeding up the tender process.<\/p>\n
\"It is common practice to speed up the bureaucratic process
\nwith money in this country. Nobody can deny it,\" he told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The broker said that he was merely aiding the printing firm he
\nrepresented in order to win a tender.<\/p>\n
Earlier, another executive of a winning printing company
\nstressed that he had given hundreds of millions of rupiah to
\nthose KPU members in charge of the ballot paper tender.<\/p>\n
According to him, all bidding printing firms had three
\napproaches for lobbying their case -- KPU members, its KPU
\nsecretariat and its logistics bureau.<\/p>\n
Firms bidding in KPU tenders also tried to outdo their
\ncompetition by manipulating the data they submitted to the
\ncommission on printing firms.<\/p>\n
An investigation by the Post revealed that at least six of the
\n17 companies that won the KPU's printing project did not have the
\nappropriate machines and set a high printing cost.<\/p>\n
The KPU picked 17 of more than 80 firms to print the 660
\nmillion ballot papers for the April 5 election. Its final
\nselection was, however, based on documented machine
\nspecifications submitted by tender participants, and the
\ncommission did not conduct any field checks.<\/p>\n
The documents only stated that those printing firms that had
\nmet tender requirements and the KPU's prices were declared
\nwinners.<\/p>\n
Many tender winners, however, were unable to meet their
\nprinting deadlines, causing a delay in the distribution of ballot
\npapers. In some areas, the KPU had to delay the elections due to
\nthe late arrival of election materials, such as ballots and ink.<\/p>\n
To prevent a repeat experience, the KPU has decided to appoint
\nprinting companies directly for the July 5 presidential election.<\/p>\n
However, KPU member Mulyana W. Kusumah, chairman of the ballot
\npaper printing tender, said he had not observed any officials
\nacting with an intent to strike a deal with printing firms and so
\nhelp them win the tenders.<\/p>\n
He conceded that the commission was unable to check all 17
\nwinning firms and their facilities, as they were understaffed and
\nshort of time.<\/p>\n
He also stressed that the ballot paper committee had taken
\nfull responsibility for all decisions it took at that time.<\/p>\n
Regarding the possibility of overpricing, KPU tender
\nconsultant Sentot Marjuki said the commission had conducted its
\nown calculations that resulted in a price of Rp 275 for six
\ncolors -- or Rp 45.8 per color -- for printing ballots of between
\n40 cm x 65 cm to 55 cm x 80.5 cm, or plano size, and that the
\nKPU's price was low.<\/p>\n
However, several winning companies could print six-color
\nballots for Rp 150 to Rp 180, or Rp 25 to Rp 30 per color.<\/p>\n
--------------------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
Questionable firms in ballot tender
\n--------------------------------------------------------------
\n1. Winkarya Lintas Persada<\/p>\n
- Printer specification listed as 4-color, but a check<\/p>\n
revealed it to be 2-color<\/p>\n
- Submitted price of Rp 25 per color for 6-color ballots<\/p>\n
2. Dwi Rama<\/p>\n
- Printer specs listed as 4-color, but check revealed it<\/p>\n
was not a color printer<\/p>\n
3. Jenakarya Adi Indah<\/p>\n
- under specifications for printers and price, it had<\/p>\n
entered: \"refer to PT Nusantara Lestari\"<\/p>\n
4. Balai Pustaka<\/p>\n
- noted on tender document that it only accepted print<\/p>\n
orders for books<\/p>\n
5. Pebea Tata Mandiri<\/p>\n
- corporate address leads to a residential house<\/p>\n
6. Swadharma (under Peruri group bid)<\/p>\n
- noted it would only accept orders on condition that it<\/p>\n
would supply the plain paper
\n--------------------------------------------------------------
\nSource: The Jakarta Post<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/money-talks-in-april-ballot-printing-projects-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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