City Inspector pushed to quit, says councilor

JAKARTA (JP): City Inspector Hendarin was believed to have asked for an early pension since his recommendation to remove senior officials allegedly involved in the Ancol scandal was rejected by Governor Sutiyoso, a councillor said on Thursday.

Councillor Abdul Aziz Matnur of the Justice Party felt that by rejecting Hendarin's recommendation, Governor Sutiyoso was not serious in upholding the law and maintaining clean government.

"It's possible that Sutiyoso 'pushed' Hendarin to resign," said Aziz, who is also a member of the Council's Commission A for administrative and legal affairs.

He urged Sutiyoso to keep Hendarin in the administration due to his credibility as the city inspector, and punish the senior officials, as suggested by Hendarin.

Separately, Sutiyoso denied that Hendarin has submitted his resignation due to his recommendations over the Ancol scandal being ignored. The scandal involved controversial foreign trips taken by 45 people, including officials and councillors.

"He just reported that he would retire. It's usual for officials to make the report several months before the pension is due," he told reporters.

According to the city administration data, Hendarin, an echelon I official, was born on Oct. 5, 1946, meaning he is 54 years old.

Government regulation No. 32/79 on civil servants' terms states that echelon I and II officials retire at the age of 58 and the term could be extended to the age of 60.

In the so-called Ancolgate scandal, 45 people participated in the trip financed by city-owned developer PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol to Japan, South Africa and Australia.

Besides receiving travel allowances from the company, the people also reportedly received a further allowance of Rp 50 million each, taken from the City Budget.

Eight councillors from the Council's Commission D for development affairs have been questioned by the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office for their participation in the controversial trip. (jun)