City official reported to police

JAKARTA: Head of the city property office Margani claimed last Saturday that he was ready to face police questioning due to a complaint from nine companies over a tire purchasing tender worth Rp 9 billion.

Margani admitted the tender for the tires of city-owned vehicles which should have been conducted in August last year was canceled due to alleged collusion among the companies.

"We then decided to appoint five other companies which had been endorsed by tire producers," he said.

He said the appointment to purchase the tires, worth Rp 4.3 billion was allowed according to the government regulation for emergency matters since the tires were urgently needed, including for city-owned dump trucks and fire trucks.

Separately, spokesman for the nine companies Salmon Manurung announced last Saturday that the companies reported Margani, the city secretary's financial assistant Makmun Amin and four other officials at the property office to the city police for corruption.

Salmon said the cancellation of the tender and the purchasing of the tires were illegal.

"It was illegal since the project (the purchasing) was also never announced in a newspaper which is required by the regulation," he said.--JP