City abuses tender procedures: Lawyer

City abuses tender procedures: Lawyer

JAKARTA (JP): The lawyer for a small supplier firm has said
his client is demanding that a project bid under the city's
personnel bureau be voided and bidding held again.

Pardomuan Simanjuntak of Parist and Associates said his
client, PT Ronald Maju, was also considering suing the city's
head of bids committee for abusing bidding procedures.

The company, represented by B. Simbolon, had registered early
this year in a bid for the supply of microfilms, a project for
the city's personnel bureau.

The bid was in the C category, for projects under Rp 500
million (US$208,768).

When the committee invited all bidders to attend the
announcement of the bids on Jan. 16, the proposals of two
companies, including Ronald Maju's, were not announced.

"The opening of the bid documents by the committee did not
reflect the 1994 presidential decree," Pardomuan said, referring
to a decree on bid procedures.

Pardomuan said his client's bid was the lowest at Rp 92.3
million, while the highest was from a firm called PT Lamson
Marumar Jaya, who proposed costs of Rp 199.9 million.

The firm's representative had questioned the committee, but
the staff could not give clear answers.

"We sent a letter to the city's internal investigator on Jan.
17 but have not received a response," Pardomuan said Saturday.

He had also approached the city's personnel bureau but the
staff there could not comment either, the lawyer said.

Pardomuan said he was told the head of the bureau had been
summoned to the investigator's office, and therefore could not
comment.

Earlier this month, Governor Surjadi Soedirdja warned heads of
city projects to step up supervision of projects which were
expected to improve the city's public services. He said those
involved in projects should not aim to enrich themselves.

The lawyer said the committee's conduct "clearly hurts the
city's partners in its projects, which are small companies."

He added he had received several other complaints about the
city's bids committee.

"But this one had gone too far because it involved one of the
last steps (in securing a project) and because it was the
committee who invited our client," Pardomuan said.

Other complaints, he said, concerned bids on several other
city agencies projects.

For instance, company representatives said bureaucrats were
"arrogant" nearing the registration time deadline.

"They are hard to find and the registration booths are often
empty," the lawyer said.

"As a result bids are registered too late," Pardomuan said.

He said company managements acknowledge having to pay levies,
but are tight-lipped about it.

"Managements who reported to us do not complain about losing
money to levies, even when they lose, as long as the city sticks
to the procedures," the lawyer said.

He added that violations of procedures have led to suspicion
that bids were rigged.

"Even now we do not know who won the microfilm supply
project," he said.

Bid winners are announced a week after the committee reveals
what is called the list of city project partners. (anr)