Uncertainty faces ballot box production<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
The completion of 2.19 million ballot boxes on time for the April
\n5 legislative election was still under doubt because of a
\nshortage of aluminum, the General Elections Commission (KPU)
\nadmitted on Monday.<\/p>\n
KPU head of logistics Chusnul Mar'iyah and deputy secretary
\ngeneral Sussongko Suhardjo confirmed new stocks of aluminum
\nsheets for the boxes would be ready in early March. The KPU had
\nearlier required the boxes to have been completed and distributed
\nby Feb. 26.<\/p>\n
\"We will have another meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) to compile
\nall data and resolve the problem,\" Chusnul said after meeting
\nwith aluminum producers and the two firms contracted to produce
\nthe boxes -- PT Survindo Indah Prestasi and PT Tjakrindo Mas.<\/p>\n
Data obtained from KPU official Mulyana W. Kusumah showed 850
\ntons of new aluminum sheets would reach Survindo's factories by
\nMarch 1. Survindo has to complete payments to the aluminum
\nproducers by Feb. 24.<\/p>\n
The KPU had no data on how many aluminum sheets had been
\nsupplied to Tjakrindo, he said.<\/p>\n
Mulyana said the KPU would pressure aluminum producers to
\ncomplete the aluminum sheets by early or mid-February instead of
\nearly March.<\/p>\n
Aluminum producers had so far insisted they could not meet the
\nKPU's deadline to produce the sheets with their current
\ncapacities.<\/p>\n
\"If they can not produce the sheets in time to meet our
\nrequirements, they should subcontract producing the sheets to
\nother firms that can do so,\" Mulyana said.<\/p>\n
Four aluminum producers -- Starmas, Intibumi, Indoalun, and
\nAlumindo -- are contracted to provide a total of 4,062 tons of
\naluminum sheets to Survindo, while Alumindo is to supply
\nTjakrindo with 2,700 tons of aluminum sheets.<\/p>\n
Representatives from all four aluminum firms refused to
\ncomment.<\/p>\n
Mochtar from Tjakrindo said his firm had paid for the 2,700
\ntons of aluminum sheets and he expected that Alumindo would
\nfulfill its promise to provide the sheets in the first week of
\nFebruary.<\/p>\n
Bambang Maryono, of Survindo, said his company had paid Rp 7.8
\nbillion to the four aluminum producers. There were no longer
\nfinancial difficulties paying the firms, he said.<\/p>\n
However, a source in the meeting said Survindo still owed
\nabout Rp 17 billion to the four aluminum producers, resulting in
\na lack of cashflow which had hampered production.<\/p>\n
Based on the KPU's data, as of Jan. 18, Survindo had produced
\n411,000 boxes, while Tjakrindo had completed over 200,000.<\/p>\n
Survindo was announced in early November as the sole winner of
\nthe Rp 311 billion ballot box tender.<\/p>\n
Survindo was supposed to produce some 925,000 boxes and
\nTjakrindo 210,000 boxes by Jan. 14 respectively.<\/p>\n
But by late December the KPU had split off 40 percent of the
\n2.19 million ballot boxes production to Tjakrindo, ranked second
\nin the tender, due to Survindo's failure to produce the ballot
\nboxes on schedule.<\/p>\n
The KPU promised to review the proportion in mid-January if
\nboth companies failed to meet their obligation.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/uncertainty-faces-ballot-box-production-1447893297",
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