Public demands up for BPK to audit military foundations<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Supreme Audit Body (BPK) chairman Satrio Budihardjo Joedono
\nblamed Law No. 16\/2001 on foundations on Sunday for preventing
\nhis office from auditing military foundations, but fell short of
\ndemanding the law be scrapped.<\/p>\n
An audit conducted by BPK is necessary to determine whether or
\nnot military foundations are using state funds to develop their
\nbusiness empires, Joedono told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Joedono was reacting to public demand that BPK should audit
\nmilitary foundations on the grounds they were owned by a state
\ninstitution -- the military.<\/p>\n
"The state audit body should have access to information about
\nthe foundations run by the defense forces because the military is
\na state institution," military analyst of the Centre for
\nStrategic and International Studies (CSIS) Kusnanto Anggoro said
\non Sunday.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Military have dozens of foundations involved in
\nbusiness. The Army's Kartika Eka Paksi foundation allegedly has
\n26 other companies dealing in a variety of businesses, ranging
\nfrom shrimp farming to electronics.<\/p>\n
Inkopad (the Army's Cooperative Center) allegedly has 12
\naffiliated companies. The Air Force, the Navy and the police are
\nalso more or less the same. The Red Beret Corps Foundation even
\nattended training held by Ikadin on how to master business.<\/p>\n
However Law No. 16\/2001 on foundations gives the authority to
\nthe public auditor, instead of the state audit body, to examine
\nfinancial reports of foundations.<\/p>\n
"Let the public interpret the law themselves," Joedono said,
\nwhen asked if the law hampered the work of his office.<\/p>\n
Article 52 (3) of the 2001 Foundation Law stipulates that a
\nfoundation receiving state aid, foreign assistance amounting to
\nat least Rp 500 million, or has an assets worth Rp 20 billion,
\nmust be audited by a public auditor.<\/p>\n
Joedono said his office could only ask the public auditor to
\ncarry out an audit of military foundations using the standard of
\nstate audit (SAP) and to submit a copy of the audit results to
\nhis office.<\/p>\n
Kusnanto also urged the military to hand over their business
\nenterprises to the government, so they could focus on being
\nprofessional soldiers.<\/p>\n
"Military business activities through various foundations
\nshould be terminated, in order to boost the professionalism of
\nthe military," he said.<\/p>\n
"Any problems or irregularities emerging from military
\nbusiness practices could not be resolved until the businesses
\nwere controlled by the state," said Kusnanto, urging President
\nMegawati Soekarnoputri to issue a decree ordering the takeover of
\nmilitary businesses by the state.<\/p>\n
If the military's business enterprises are sold to the public,
\nthe military could be compensated with 70 percent of the sale
\nproceeds, with the remaining 30 percent going to the state, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
There has been strong speculation that profits from military
\nbusinesses only benefit high-ranking military officials, while
\nlow-ranking soldiers remain strapped for cash.<\/p>\n
"Only five percent of the military's business profits is given
\nto low-ranking soldiers," Kusnanto added.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/public-demands-up-for-bpk-to-audit-military-foundations-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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