Billions in public money idle in bank
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Billions of rupiah in change from traffic fines remain idle at a state bank, as most people have been reluctant to go to court over traffic tickets and preferred to pay out-of-court settlements.
"I went to a trial once and it made me tired because of the long queue. So the next time ... I paid the Rp 40,000 (US$4.40) fine to Jakarta Police Headquarters and let them handle the rest," Ronald, not his real name, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
At headquarters, he said, the officers in charge showed him a table of violations and the estimated fines. "I knew the court would hand down a much lower fine, but I didn't want to go to court."
The police take the payment and ticket for processing at court, which usually determines a lower fine.
What Ronald did not realize was that the change from the estimated out-of-court fines and the fine as determined by the court went into an account in Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI); nor did he have any idea that billions of rupiah had accumulated in the account since 1997, when the out-of-court traffic fine was implemented.
"If that's the case, the money can go to the policemen, who deserve it. They work hard to direct traffic," he said.
However, not all people share Ronald's opinion.
"The government should tell the public about this account -- how much money is in it and how much of it is owed (in change) to violators," said Arif Nur Alam, a coordinator of Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra).
He suggested that the government open a hotline or conduct a public survey so the people could decide what to do with the money. "Certainly, the money should be used for programs that support public interests. But let the public decide."
Police Staff College (PTIK) Governor Insp. Gen. Farouk Muhammad had suggested earlier that the money be used to improve the traffic ticketing system.
"We estimate that the account holds billions of rupiah, millions of which belong to violators. Why don't we use it to make the system more efficient," Farouk said.
At a seminar last week, he unveiled an idea to set up a system under which violators could pay fines through automatic teller machines (ATM).
"The police would not need to confiscate their driver's license or vehicle registration. If the violator does not pay by the deadline, the police will temporarily suspend the license and registration," he said.
Farouk added the violator would be required to select an option on the ticket as to how they wanted their change handled.
"For example, the money could be used toward certain public facilities," he said. "They can also take the change, if they prefer."