City official cars taken for exodus

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Officials may want to think twice before using their official cars to go home for the Idul Fitri holiday, even though Governor Sutiyoso has allowed them to do so, since it could be viewed as another form of corruption.

"That's simply an abuse of their position for their own interests. It is also another form of corruption. Such practices must be stopped as it will offend the people's sensibilities," said chairman of non-governmental organization Jakarta Residents Forum, Azas Tigor Nainggolan.

Tigor emphasized that the official cars were procured as well as maintained with taxpayers' money.

"They should only be used for official purposes, not personal use. What if they are involved in a traffic accidents? Who will cover the damages? Of course, not the administration," he asserted.

Sutiyoso decided on Friday to allow his subordinates to use official cars to visit their hometowns for Idul Fitri.

"We cannot ban them from using official cars. As long as they maintain the cars well, that will be no problem. I don't think it is a big issue," Sutiyoso said.

"Personally, I take care of my official car like my own. I really maintain the car very well. I think if the officials have maintained their official cars well, using those cars (to go to their hometowns) could be a kind of reward for them," he said.

No data was immediately available on Friday on how many official cars are owned by the administration. But, most heads of divisions at city agencies are given official cars.

In a related development, city secretary Ritola Tasmaya revealed that the administration had decided to drop the plan to buy official cars for the city councillors since the newly issued government regulation on the status and budget for regional councillors does not specifically mention the provision of official cars for the councillors.

"As there is no strong legal basis for the purchase of official cars for the councillors, we decided not to disburse the fund although we had already earmarked it for the procurement of the cars."

He said that the administration had allocated in the 2005 city budget a total of Rp 10.6 billion to procure cars for 71 council members. Each car is priced at Rp 150 million.