Budget meeting in Puncak canceled, moved to City Hall

Budget meeting in Puncak canceled, moved to City Hall

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Ciloto, West Java

Due to public complaints and the urging of the police, a
meeting between Jakarta councillors and officials to discuss the
2003 city budget at the Ciloto Indah Permai Hotel in Puncak,
Cianjur regency, West Java, was canceled on Tuesday.

The chief of police in Pacet, a district in Puncak, First
Insp. Bambang, urged the councillors to cancel the meeting after
police received telephone calls from residents complaining about
traffic congestion due to the meeting.

"I hope the meeting can be canceled in response to complaints
from residents," Bambang, who arrived at the hotel at about 11
a.m., told leaders of the city council.

The decision was taken after a meeting between Bambang and the
budget meeting chairman, Chudlary Syafii, who said more than
1,000 people arrived for the meeting on Tuesday.

Chudlary said no more than 300 people, consisting of city
councillors, officials and a number of staff members, should
actually attend the meeting.

The council leaders, including three deputy chairmen and 11
chairmen of the council's factions, then decided to cancel the
meeting and move it to City Hall on Wednesday.

Traffic was backed up from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. because hundreds
of cars belonging to businesspeople and city officials were
parked along the road in the area around Ciloto.

Several luxury cars, including a black Jaguar, were parked
along the road in front of the hotel. Many of the cars belonged
to businesspeople who reportedly were in Puncak to approach the
councillors and officials about city projects.

Traffic was backed up for at least 10 kilometers along the
road from Cipayung to the Ciloto hotel.

Besides the cars, dozens of members of the non-governmental
organization Indonesian Consumers Rights Struggle Foundation, who
were there to protest the meeting, added to the congestion.

The organization, which has its office in Matraman, East
Jakarta, criticized the city council for wasting public money by
holding the meeting at a privately owned hotel.

The cancellation of the meeting is believed to have caused at
least Rp 75 million (US$8,330) in losses.

"We have to pay the costs for today, although we booked the
hotel for two days," council spokesman Rubingan said after the
cancellation of the meeting.

Council secretary Moerdiman earlier said the meeting would
cost Rp 150 million.

But reliable sources said the council had booked 300 rooms at
the hotel for the 85 councillors and city officials, at an
average rate of Rp 200,000 per room per night. That would put the
cost of the meeting closer to Rp 400 million.

Other city officials and employees also reportedly booked
rooms at hotels near the Ciloto hotel to provide support during
the meeting.

According to the council's original schedule, the budget
meeting was to be held at the city-owned Wisma Jaya Raya Hotel
and Resort in Cipayung, Puncak, Bogor regency.

The meeting was moved to the Ciloto hotel because the Wisma
Jaya Raya was already booked by paramilitary youth group Pemuda
Panca Marga for its national gathering.

A few councillors reportedly suggested the meeting be moved to
City Hall, but the majority of the councillors wanted the meeting
held in Puncak.

Many observers accuse the councillors of insisting the meeting
be held in Puncak in order to avoid any public scrutiny.

It was also expected during the Puncak meeting that
councillors and officials would discuss the facilities they would
receive in the new budget.

Many observers have criticized the proposed 2003 budget for
allocating Rp 90 billion for the 85 councillors and Rp 9 billion
for Governor Sutiyoso.

These critics pointed out that in comparison, the proposed
budget only allocated Rp 26 billion for the city's 1.2 million
poor residents.