Councillors forced to drop demand for life insurance

JAKARTA (JP): Fearful of public criticism, the city council dropped on Friday its demand for the city administration to provide its 85 members with life insurance worth Rp 4.25 billion (US$472,222).

The council's budgetary team secretary, Dani Anwar, said, "We want to avoid more public criticism, so we are dropping the insurance demand."

Dani admitted that many councillors demanded life insurance following the death of three councillors, including Edy Suchro from the National Mandate Party, due to a heart attack last month.

He said that currently some councillors were sick, including councillor Saud Rahman, who suffered a stroke last year and until now cannot attend council activities.

"Many councillors have questioned what would they leave their families if they died suddenly. We have done much for the city," Dani, of the Justice Party, said.

During a meeting early this week with city officials held at Horison Hotel Ancol, North Jakarta, he said that the council suggested that the budget should allocate at least Rp 50 million for life insurance for each councillor.

He noted that not all 85 councillors have the financial ability to buy life insurance although some of them may have joined life insurance plans.

"Not all councillors have the money to buy life insurance. They are not like the council's deputy chairman Djafar Badjeber," Dani said.

Another councillor, Amarullah Asbah, from the Golkar Party, who earlier supported the life insurance plan for the councillors, refused to comment on Friday.

Several other councillors seemed also reluctant to comment on the matter.

Amarullah, who is chairman of the council's Commission C for financial and budgetary affairs, urged the public on Thursday not to question the amount of money that would be used for the insurance as it is far smaller than what had been budgeted this year.

Djafar, who is also chairman of the city chapter of the United Development Party, said the Rp 4.25 billion for life insurance would come from an additional special allowance of Rp 6 billion, which has been demanded by the council in a revised budget.

Dani said on Friday that although the life insurance demand has been dropped, the Rp 6 billion special allowance was still to be allocated in the revised budget.

"It is for allowances for councillors in processing and passing city bylaws," he said.

The 2001 city budget has allocated Rp 48 billion for councillors as a "special allowance" to process at least 15 bylaws this year.

Earlier, they proposed an additional special allowance of Rp 11.7 billion in the revised budget. Due to mounting public criticism, they lowered the allowance to Rp 6 billion. (jun)