Committee chair asked for 'compensation'

Committee chair asked for 'compensation'

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Provincial Elections Committee (PPD
I) secretariat has been asked to provide Rp 80 million
(US$11,940) to committee members and 48 political party
representatives, an executive said.

Committee chairman Djafar Badjeber said on Tuesday that the
money, requested by him and deputy chairman Harun Al Rasyid, was
to compensate for the hard work put in by PPD I members and 48
party representatives to reexamine documents supplied by the 76
city councilor candidates.

The reexamination is supposed to establish, among other
things, that the capital's next councilors are Jakarta residents
and are well-educated.

"The request was made to the secretariat's head Dody Sudarno.
After all, I am the head of PPD I and I have to take care of my
members. I have to be arif (kind-hearted)," Djafar said.

"Even if the secretariat decides to give half, that's fine."

Data from the PPD I office at the Central Jakarta mayoralty
reveals that the letter requesting the money was signed and sent
by Harun and Djafar on July 14, two days before the reexamination
process begun on Friday.

When told that according to the Election Law no extra budget
was required for the reexamination of documents, Djafar repeated
that as head of PPD I, he had to be fair to his members.

He added that PPD I members and party representatives were
unable to reexamine the documents immediately after the listing
of temporary legislative candidates (DCS), as required by the
Election Law, since there was "no time".

The DCS listing was made public via the media before the
month-long election campaigning activities started on May 19.

"We were busy then. Now we have the time," he said.

The team in charge of the reexamination (Panlitda), whose
members include the 48 party representatives and PPD I members,
did not say when they would finish the process.

Head of the committee's program division Muchamad Taufik has
said political parties who gain city council seats must replace
legislative candidates who are not Jakarta residents.

"If we find that their KTP (identification cards) submitted to
us are fake, they can be legally charged," he said.

In addition to checking the identification cards, PPD I will
also run checks on the councilors' diplomas and medical records.
Their assets will also be audited.(ylt)