Budget for governor's wardrobe to be reviewed

JAKARTA (JP): You are what you wear. That must be what Governor Sutiyoso had in mind when proposing an increase in the allowance for his official wardrobe from Rp 40 million to Rp 60 million for this year.

And while the city councillors are finding themselves in hot water for having too much fun during their overseas trips, the governor has also proposed an increase in the allocation for his official trips from Rp 165 million to Rp 445 million.

As for the health fund, he has proposed that it be increased from Rp 78 million to Rp 138 million, while for the maintenance of his residence and office, he has asked that the allocation be increased from Rp 480 million to Rp 705 million.

The proposals were made by the city administration earlier this week in a review of the city budget 2001, which if accepted would result in it rising from Rp 7.495 trillion to Rp 8.1 trillion.

"It shows that Sutiyoso and his administration have no sense of crisis. It's just wasting public money," head of the urban division of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute Tubagus Karbyanto told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He questioned the use of the budget since most of the revenue in the budget was taken from taxes.

As for the wardrobe allowance, Tubagus said Sutiyoso should display the clothes that he had bought so far during his term.

"Maybe he can open a clothes store after his term ends next year," he said.

He was also worried that city councillors would ask for similar wardrobe allowances to the one Sutiyoso was seeking. He said the council had earlier demanded the same facilities as those received by officials in the city administration, such as the provision of a sauna.

Separately, Sutiyoso claimed on Friday that the proposals had been made without his knowledge.

He said that he had told his subordinates to review the proposals. "I have always told my assistants not to increase these allocations. I told them to increase the allocations destined for the public," Sutiyoso told reporters at City Hall.

The city administration is expected to receive an increase in revenue from individual income tax and other taxes amounting to Rp 537 billion.

The allocation for routine expenditure, such as for the salaries of city employees, would be increased from Rp 4.9 trillion to Rp 5.5 trillion, while the funds for informal sector development, currently budgeted at Rp 650 million, and the allocation for the construction of facilities for the informal sector, currently Rp 3 billion, would remain the same. (jun)