Auditors find no markup in elevator purchase

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta

There were no irregularities in the procurement of a new elevator for the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta, the Jakarta Audit Agency said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, eight Jakarta councillors called on the agency to perform an audit following allegations there had been a markup in the price of the elevator by the Jakarta Culture and Museum Agency.

"We did not discover any irregularities in the procurement of the elevator," audit agency head Firman Hutajulu said at City Hall on Thursday.

He showed a copy of the city's 2003 work plan indicating the administration had planned since the beginning to use Chinese- made (Japanese) Hitachi elevator to replace the old one, which was in service from 1994 to last year.

The 2003 city budget had specified the cost of buying and installing the new elevator was Rp 1.7 billion (US$196,532).

Councillors had alleged the presence of a markup, following their finding the elevator "had different specifications from the product type as stipulated" in the city budget.

The allegations arose after the Monas elevator experienced technical problems twice since it began service in January. On Sunday, the new Chinese-made Hitachi elevator jammed when the automatic lock on the elevator door was damaged after visitors crammed into the elevator. The jam trapped dozens of tourists on the 117-meter high Monas tower's observation deck for about two hours.

Earlier on March 23, dozens of kindergarten students were trapped inside the elevator after the power went off.

Firman said the new elevator was equipped with a five-year warranty and supporting technicians were available to back up its operation. He could not give details on the old elevator's specifications.

He pointed the finger at Monas management head Surya Darma Basri for his failure in anticipating a massive influx of visitors on Sunday and said overcrowding had led to the break down.

"The incident was purely caused by human error. No technical failure was involved," he said.

Firman said his agency had quizzed five members of the Monas management team about the incident.

Following Sunday's elevator breakdown, Governor Sutiyoso had ordered the Monas management to stop the elevator's operation for a month starting on May 5 for repairs. However, Monas staff were continuing to operate the elevator on Wednesday.

Sutiyoso said he would issue a written order to the Monas management to close down the elevator.