Commission decides not do 2nd tender for ink
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The General Elections Commission (KPU) decided on Friday not to re-tender for ink procurement, despite doubts over the financial capability of eight companies bidding for the project.
Chairman of the KPU ink tender committee Rusadi Kantaprawira said the decision was taken following strong support from the House of Representatives (DPR) regarding the current process.
"We (KPU members) have met House leaders and they are not in favor of a re-tender, so the current tender will continue," Rusadi said.
KPU chairman Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin called for a re-tender on Thursday after the eight companies bidding for the project submitted a price quotation far exceeding the budget allocated.
Calls for a re-tender, however, have also surfaced following revelations that most bidding participants are financially unsound.
The directorate general for taxation reportedly made a phone call to the KPU, informing the committee that most of the bidders had low financial capabilities.
During the meeting with the House, KPU members were led by Nazaruddin, while House leaders were led by Speaker Akbar Tandjung, who was exonerated of corruption by the Supreme Court on Thursday.
Rusadi said that the ink re-tender was only possible if the current tender failed to produce winners or the winners and the committee reached deadlock in negotiating a price.
"But at present, the tender has not selected winners, therefore an ink re-tender cannot be carried out," he said.
According to Rusadi, the ink tender would assess the bidders' core business, import experience, ink procurement experience and their distribution links, as well as other criteria.
Earlier on Thursday, Nazaruddin issued an instruction asking the tender committee to annul the tender and carry out an ink re- tender due to the high price quoted by the bidders.
They quoted an ink price of Rp 25,700 to Rp 42,500 per 30 milliliter bottle, while KPU has set a maximum price of Rp 36,500 per bottle.
The bidders are PT Fulcomas Jaya, PT Lina Permai Sakti, Multi Mega, PT Mustika Indra Mas, PT Senorotan Perkasa, PT Tricipta Adimandiri, PT Wahgo International and PT Yana Prima Hasta Persada.
KPU will choose four winners to provide ink for the April 5 election.
Separately, Mulyana W. Kusumah, chairman of the ballot paper printing tender, said the committee had considered ordering more paper from PT Kertas Lecces, worth Rp 13 billion, to fulfill the ballot paper printing requirements.
A total of 18 bidders have been selected as winners to print over 600 million ballot papers, but most of them offered quotations higher than the prices set by the committee.
The bidders quoted prices of Rp 360 to Rp 1,210 per paper, while the committee set a maximum price of Rp 400 per paper.
Meanwhile, KPU will send a team to Shanghai, China, to study the possibility of importing 260,000 ballot boxes from China.
KPU deputy secretary-general Sussongko Suhardjo said the team would depart on Saturday and return home on Sunday.
"We shall check whether there are ballot boxes already in stock in China, as promised by PT Tricipta Adimandiri," he said.
Tricipta, which is also one of the ink tender bidders, recorded no sales and paid no taxes in 2003, according to a tax report.
The price of one ballot box was offered at Rp 129,000 excluding tax, with KPU limiting the total price of one box to Rp 147,000.