Most councillors reject wealth audit commission<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Most of the city councillors rejected on
\nThursday a mandatory audit of their wealth to be conducted by the
\nPublic Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN), a commission
\nmember revealed.<\/p>\n
KPKPN's legislative committee chief, Abdullah Hehamahua, said
\nthat, during a closed-door meeting, the councillors had insisted
\nthat they were not subject to the audit because they were not
\nclassified as state officials.<\/p>\n
As a result, the councillors said they would not complete the
\nforms provided for them to declare their assets, Abdullah added.<\/p>\n
\"They are the only legislative council members who are
\nresisting the wealth audit. I'm surprised that they don't know
\nmuch about the law,\" Abdullah told reporters after the meeting.<\/p>\n
He said that over 50 percent of councillors across the country
\nhad already returned their forms.<\/p>\n
Law 127\/1999 on state officials incorporates city councillors
\nin the list of state officials, due to earnings they derive from
\nthe city budget. Based on that stipulation, Abdullah insisted
\nthat the councillors had no grounds for evasion of the audit.<\/p>\n
\"They consume state or city budget funds, therefore they have
\nto be audited,\" Abdullah, who is also chairman of the Islamic-
\nbased New Masyumi Party, remarked.<\/p>\n
He suggested that the councillors' rejection was a consequence
\nof political freedom in the reform era.<\/p>\n
\"We can tolerate difference in opinion, but it should not go
\nuncontrolled,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Unlike the first meeting, when KPKPN members distributed the
\ndeclaration of wealth forms three weeks ago, Tuesday's meeting
\nwas held behind closed doors at city hall.<\/p>\n
Most councillors refused to comment on the two-hour meeting,
\nwhich started at 2 p.m.<\/p>\n
Councillor Abdul Azis Matnur admitted that the councillors
\nrejected to be classified as state officials since they were not
\npaid and did not receive pensions.<\/p>\n
\"Our salary has no clear standards. Also, we do not receive
\npensions like other officials,\" Azis, a member of the Justice
\nParty, told reporters after the meeting.<\/p>\n
Instead of being paid a salary, city councillors receive a
\nmonthly \"honorary cash reward\" amounting to Rp 7 million
\n(US$700), excluding meeting fees and travel allowances.<\/p>\n
Another councillor, Ugiek Sugihardjo, agreed with Azis, saying
\nthat the audit commission's authority remained questionable.<\/p>\n
\"We do not reject it, we just question its authority,\" Ugiek,
\nof the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, said.<\/p>\n
Many councillors have not completed the forms due to the
\nburden of their daily activities, especially their preparations
\nfor the final response to Governor Sutiyoso's accountability
\nspeech, scheduled for April 30, according to Ugiek.<\/p>\n
The councillors, he said, demanded that the deadline for
\nsubmission of the forms be extended. He did not suggest how long
\nthe extension should be.<\/p>\n
Ugiek said many of the forms were being kept at the council's
\nsecretariat.<\/p>\n
But sources said that councillors had intentionally asked the
\nsecretariat to hold the forms until the audit commission
\nreturned.<\/p>\n
Abdullah said he would bow to the councillors' request and set
\na new deadline for the submission of forms, likely to be May 16.<\/p>\n
\"We will issue warrants if they refuse to submit the forms
\n(after the revised deadline),\" he said. (jun)<\/p>",
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