Three of Mega's donations from the same source<\/p>\n
Suherdjoko and M. Taufiqurrahman, Semarang\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Central Java's Semarang General Elections Supervisory Committee
\n(Panwaslu) discovered on Tuesday that three related companies had
\ncontributed to the Megawati Soekarnoputri-Hasyim Muzadi campaign
\nfund.<\/p>\n
The three firms, PT Matahari Jaya Makmur, PT Matahari
\nSilverindo Jaya and PT Mega Mulya Keramic, which are all owned or
\npartly owned by Budiono, were found to have donated Rp 750
\nmillion (US$83,333) each to the Megawati-Hasyim campaign fund.<\/p>\n
Panwaslu embarked on the investigation after receiving reports
\nfrom Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) and Transparency
\nInternational (TI) Indonesia that the Megawati-Hasyim campaign
\nteam received donations from a number of sources with dubious
\nidentities.<\/p>\n
\"The three companies are related as they are owned or partly
\nowned by Budiono. He is the executive director of PT Matahari
\nJaya Makmur and PT Matahari Silverindo Jaya while at the same
\ntime he owns shares in PT Mega Mulya Keramik,\" said Panwaslu
\nmember Husni Thamrin.<\/p>\n
The three companies, however, are not fictitious as TI
\nIndonesia and ICW alleged, and managed to produce receipts of
\nmoney transferred to the Megawati-Hasyim campaign fund account,
\ntax numbers (NPWP) and other documents proving that the companies
\nare legal entities.<\/p>\n
Suspicion surfaced because the Megawati campaign team failed
\nto disclose the identities of the three companies in its
\nfinancial report to the General Elections Commission (KPU).<\/p>\n
During six hours of questioning on Tuesday, staffers from the
\ncompanies acknowledged that their firms donated Rp 750 million
\neach to the Megawati-Hasyim campaign fund.<\/p>\n
\"I was instructed by the PT Mega Mulya Keramik executive
\ndirector to record the Rp 750 million Bank Mandiri transfer,\"
\nsaid company operational manager Sugiyatiningsih.<\/p>\n
An executive from PT Matahari Silverindo Jaya Tandiono said
\nthat the donation was decided upon in a meeting of the company's
\nboard of directors.<\/p>\n
Panwaslu has yet to announce whether it will investigate the
\ncase further.<\/p>\n
The Presidential Election Law states that candidates can be
\ndisqualified if proven to have accepted funds from sources with
\nunclear identities, from foreign institutions or donations from
\nthe government and government-related sources but fail to report
\nthem to the KPU within 14 days.<\/p>\n
The law also stipulates that the maximum amounts of donation
\nfor presidential candidates are Rp 750 million from a private
\ncompany and Rp 100 million from an individual.<\/p>\n
Separately, after protracted deliberations with the KPU, the
\nHouse of Representatives budgetary committee agreed to disburse
\nRp 62.9 billion (US$6.9 million) in bridging funds to help the
\ncommission organize the Sept. 20 election runoff.<\/p>\n
Speaking after a meeting with the committee, KPU deputy
\nchairman Ramlan Surbakti said that the shoestring budget had been
\napproved and would soon be disbursed from the state treasury to
\nhelp the commission procure poll equipment for the runoff.<\/p>\n
\"The bridging fund will be disbursed, although the budgetary
\ncommittee has yet to approve the KPU's proposal for a total of Rp
\n419 billion in additional funds for the second round of the
\nelection. We badly need the bridging fund because preparations
\nfor the runoff must go on,\" Ramlan said.<\/p>\n
From the bridging fund, the KPU will allot Rp 10 billion to
\npay for the printing of ballot papers, Rp 5.6 billion to procure
\nvarious forms for poll organizers, Rp 7 billion to distribute
\nballot papers and other printed materials and Rp 6.9 billion for
\nadditional operational fees.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/three-of-megas-donations-from-the-same-source-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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