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.