Councillor received Rp 20m bribe
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Councillor Ugiek Soegihardjo, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the largest party on the City Council, admitted on Wednesday that he had received Rp 20 million (US$2,137) from the company that managed the Jakarta Fair Grounds in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.
"I still have the money. I am considering reporting the company for bribery," Ugiek, who is also a member of a special council committee investigating irregularities in PT Jakarta International Trade Fair, a joint venture involving the city.
He revealed that he was contacted last month by city secretary Moerdiman, who stated that there was some money for him from PT JITF.
He said the money, which was wrapped in a sheet of newspaper, had been given to Moerdiman by the PDI Perjuangan's faction chairman Agung Imam Sumanto.
Asked whether his colleagues had also received money from the company, Ugiek replied:"I don't know."
Ugiek was commenting on the statement made by PT JITF's President Edward Surjadjaja, who said that the council's special team was useless.
The special committee consists of 26 councillors drawn from the council's 11 factions.
Separately, Edward said on Wednesday that the special committee had found nothing new in its investigation into the company.
"The special committee is nothing," Edward told reporters after meeting Governor Sutiyoso to report on the company's plan to hold the Jakarta Fair from June 14 to July 14 in Kemayoran.
Asked about his earlier statement that Ugiek would be reported to the police for defamation, Edward said," No. Its over. Even the Jakarta Fair's committee chairman is a PDI Perjuangan member."
The fair's committee chairman is Guruh Soekarnoputra, the youngest brother of President Megawati Soekarnoputri. Guruh accompanied Edward during the meeting.
The council's special committee earlier recommended to the administration and the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office that a probe be conducted into various alleged irregularities, including the sale of a 10-hectare plot of land worth Rp 30 billion in Kemayoran that was said to belong to the company.
The company is partly owned by the city, Edward's firm PT Griya Nusa Pradhana, the state-run Kemayoran Authority and the Japan Development Corporation.