City told to curb misuse of funds

City told to curb misuse of funds

JAKARTA (JP): City councilors urged the municipality Saturday
to tighten its control and supervision of officials' behavior to
help prevent the misuse of city funds.

They made the remarks in response to the discovery of 1,046
suspected incidents of malfeasance by the City Inspectorate
Division this year.

Lukman Mokoginta from the Indonesian Democratic Party told The
Jakarta Post that such malfeasance incidents were typical in the
municipality.

"This is a characteristic of the bureaucracy disease. In time,
with the launching of the National Disciplinary Movement and the
increased awareness of the officials, the number of such
incidents will decline."

But every year numerous cases are abandoned because they
cannot be solved, he said.

Of the 1,046 suspected acts of malfeasance uncovered this
year, 489 deal with wrongdoings, ranging from indisciplinary
actions through abuse of power to corruption; 441 with
manipulative actions and 116 with land cases.

The data show that this dishonesty has caused the city
administration to suffer losses of about Rp 2.87 billion
(US$795,000).

"The number of malfeasance cases should be reduced. In order
to do that, the city needs to improve coordination between its
high-ranking officials and their subordinates," Lukman said.

For instance, the senior officers must be consistent in
applying the rules.

"If the superiors act recklessly, imagine what their
subordinates will do. High-ranking officials must be role-models
for their junior officers.

"It is a fact that our society is a paternalistic one, which
still requires a model to lead people's way of life. The same
situation occurs in the municipality," Lukman said.

Lukman also underlined the importance of boldness to cover up
violations occurring in the municipality.

"So far, the municipality has revealed only the number of
incidents of malfeasance. But it has never presented any names or
sanctions given to the violators.

"In the future this is very important, because it will teach
the officials concerned a hard lesson," he said.

Lukman also urged municipality officials not to shirk from
reporting violations committed by their colleagues.

"Usually they are afraid to report the matter, or eventually
they join the violators. This kind of action must be stopped," he
said.

Saud Rachman of Commission D for development affairs told the
Post that it was also time for Governor Sutiyoso to improve his
control over his subordinates.

"I find many of them sleep during working hours. Many of them
chat for hours, too," Saud said.

Saud urged the governor to act on this matter soon. "If those
indisciplinary matters are left unattended, it will be hard to
kick the habit."

The governor should also act as an exemplary role model for
his subordinates by doing little things properly, such as turning
up on time.

"If the governor arrives late at ceremonies, it will have a
bad effect on his officials," he added. (edt)