Councillors must work first, demand salary later

Councillors must work first, demand salary later

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The City Council should put public interests first before
demanding higher salaries and better facilities, residents say.

"The time is not right to propose higher salaries. Councillors
must show the public that they can perform first, at least in
their first year, before they ask for higher salaries," urban
observer Azas Tigor Nainggolan of the Jakarta Residents Forum
(Fakta) told The Jakarta Post by phone on Sunday.

He made the comments after newly elected council Speaker Ade
Surapriatna of the Golkar Party publicly promised to provide a
monthly salary of Rp 15 million (US$1,665.74) for each councillor
and better facilities including new cars and apartments. The
promise was made to "improve the councillors' dignity", Ade said.

"More money will not make the councillors more dignified,"
Anung Karyadi of the Indonesian Transparency International group
told the Post. "In such times of crisis, it is necessary for the
councillors to prioritize first their main tasks, such as to help
provide cheap education, instead of asking for raises."

Tigor the process in which councillors were awarded higher
salaries and better facilities should made transparent to enable
Jakartans to decide if they deserved them.

"The funds (for the salary hike) will be taken from the city
budget, which is taxpayers' money. Therefore, the use of the
money must be with the people's consent," he said.

Governor Sutiyoso said his administration would try to meet
the request made by the council to raise their salaries and
improve the facilities.

"We will try to accommodate the request as long as it complies
within existing laws and the city budget can afford it," he said.

Anung expressed his suspicion over the result of Friday's
election, in which Ade -- who, according to the Public Servants'
Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN), is the richest councillor with
total asset of Rp 5,793 billion -- managed to beat Ahmad Heryawan
of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).

On paper, Heryawan had garnered 18 votes from the PKS
councillors and 16 votes from Democratic party councillors.

During the election, Ade successfully won by 42 votes while
Heryawan only garnered 30 votes.

"There have been strong indications of money politics in the
election, including Ade's promise to raise councillors' salaries.
But we will need more data as evidence (to prove it)," he said.

Rumors circulated before election day candidates had met with
several councillors at two hotels in Central Jakarta. Some
councillors confirmed the meeting but none were willing to reveal
the meeting's agenda.

Tigor said Jakartans needed a changed council that would work
for the people's interests, especially the poor.

"Keep in mind that only 17 of the 75 councillors are old
faces. The rest are new. This reflects the public's desire for
change and a wish councillors take a critical stance against
policies that are for the interests of a few," he said.