Aid funds for Madurese refugees embezzled
Aid funds for Madurese refugees embezzled
Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya
The government's food aid for thousands of Madurese refugees who
fled ethnic riots in Central Kalimantan last year has fallen prey
to embezzlement by local authorities, said legislators in East
Java province.
Over the last three months, they said refugees have been
receiving only between Rp 20,000 and Rp 40,000 per family as
their monthly food assistance. The local government, however, had
allocated at least Rp 168,000 for each family per month.
Dja'far Shodiq, a Madurese legislator in the East Java
provincial legislative council, said each refugee family also
received only between five and 10 kilograms of rice. They should
be receiving 15 kilograms per month, he added.
"As a consequence, they are living in extremely difficult
circumstances due to the lack of food aid," he said on Wednesday
in Surabaya, East Java.
He slammed what he alleged was corruption on the part of the
officials in charge of distributing the food aid. "How can they
have the heart to swindle food from such suffering people."
At least 86,000 refugees are still stuck in Sampang regency
and 29,000 others in Bangkalan regency on the island of Madura.
They were among the Madurese migrants who fled death threats by
indigenous Dayaks in Central Kalimantan in March of last year.
The ethnic pogrom in Sampit and Palangkaraya, Central
Kalimantan, claimed at least 357 lives. Non-official estimates
put the death toll at closer to 500.
Early last week, around 40 refugees demonstrated against
embezzlement of food aid in Sampang, demanding that they receive
the amount of food aid that was officially their due.
The protesters marched to the office of Sawah Tengah village
head H. Nurul in Kedungdung subdistrict.
Dja'far said he had reported the corruption to the Sampang
police for investigation. "I have also taken the case to the head
of the East Java provincial social affairs office, Sucahyono, but
he told me he knew nothing about it."
He added that according to Sucahyono, the East Java social
affairs office had delivered the aid funds for the refugees to
the Sampang and Bangkalan authorities based on their official
quotas.
It remained unclear how much money the government had
allocated for the Madurese refugees.
"The East Java administration has never been transparent about
the funds allocated from its budget and by the central
government. I have tried to find out the figures, but I've just
been sent back and forward between the regency and provincial
administrations," said Dja'far, who is a member of the National
Awakening Party (PKB), the largest faction on the council.
He also accused the local government of breaking the promise
it made six months ago to return the refugees to Sampit and
Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan.
"So far there has been no effort by the provincial
administration to send them home, although many refugees want to
work again in Central Kalimantan after the security situation has
improved there," he added.
Dja'far said he had received a report that many plots of land
belonging to the Madurese migrants had been occupied as communal
land by Dayaks with the approval by the local authorities in
Central Kalimantan.