Councillors will get brand new sedans
Councillors will get brand new sedans
JAKARTA (JP): All members of the City Council will soon drive
a new car as the city administration finally gave the green light
on Wednesday for the request to buy the vehicles.
The administration will purchase 55 Hyundai Accent GLS sedans
for councillors who have not yet got an official car, Assistant
to the City Secretary for Administration Affairs Makmun Amin
said.
Currently 30 of the total of 83 councillors, already have
official cars. The first councillors to receive the cars were the
city council speaker, chairman of the 11 council's factions and
senior members of the five council commissions.
Makmun said that the purchase of official cars for councillors
was simply the realization of an agreement, which had long been
approved by the city administration and the City Council.
The agreement could not be realized immediately due to
widespread public disapproval on the project, he said.
A source at the City Council who requested anonymity said
Council Speaker Edy Waluyo had sent a letter to the governor on
Dec. 29, 2000, asking him to realize the plan on purchasing the
official cars immediately.
The letter said that the purchase of official cars for
councillors was based on City Bylaw No.4/2000 on the amendment of
the 2000 city budget.
According to article 12 of the Government Regulation No. 110
on the City Council financial status, official cars are provided
only for the speaker and deputies of the City Council, instead of
all members of the council.
Asked about the two conflicting regulations, Makmun said that
the City Bylaw was issued earlier than the Government Regulation.
"The City Bylaw was approved in October 2000, while the
Government Regulation was issued on November 2000.
"Nevertheless, it (the purchase of official cars) has been
approved," said Makmun.
Contacted separately, Muhayat, spokesman for the City
Administration, confirmed that the fund to purchase the cars has
been allocated from the development expenditure in the City
Budget 2000.
The total fund to purchase the new cars for 55 councillors was
Rp 5.83 billion (US$613,680), he said.
"The cars belong to the council, so it meant that the cars
should be returned by the end of the council's five-year term,"
he told The Jakarta Post by phone.
Meanwhile there were rumors that the city administration
decided to buy new cars for councillors as a bribe so that they
would approve the governor's annual accountability speech,
scheduled to be presented next March.
"That's not true!" said Djafar Badjeber, the City Council's
deputy speaker, denying the rumors.
He said the plan to purchase the new cars had been made long
ago during the fiscal year 2000.
Another city councillor, Syamsidar Siregar of the National
Mandate Party faction, said cars would be provided for the
councillors to support them in running their duties to serve the
public.
She said councillors now have a moral responsibility to
improve their standards of duty as well as their function to
control the governor's conduct.
"There is now no excuse for you to be late in attending
council meetings," she pointed out as an example of the
consequences of having a new car.
Data obtained from www.oto.co.id stipulates that each Hyundai
Accent car has a street value of between Rp 105 million and Rp
115 million. (04/07)