Bekasi councillors may not get paid

BEKASI: Forty-five newly installed councillors at Bekasi municipality will likely not receive their first monthly salary since the money had been given to former councillors, whose tenure ended on Aug. 9.

"Former councillors should have received only 50 percent of their salary but they have already received payment for a full month," said council chairman Akhmad Saikhu on Tuesday.

He added that new councillors were expected to continue working, despite the incident. "Just consider this as social work for the sake of Bekasi people."

Bekasi youth activist Ricky Tambunan called on the councillors not to make a fuss. "Their monthly salary can reach up to Rp 20 million (US$2,174) so there's no reason to complain." -- Antara