Councilors insist on debt allowance

JAKARTA (JP): Outgoing council members demanded on Thursday that the city administration grant them severance payments to cover their debts at city-owned Bank DKI.

Jonggi JP Sihombing of the Golkar party said city councilors, whose terms will end next Wednesday, would need the money to pay for their debt installments when they left office.

"It will be proper if each of us can receive a separation payment, at an amount equal to 50 percent of our monthly salary" for the time we have worked, he told The Jakarta Post.

The term of all legislators, including members of the House of Representatives (DPR) and the provincial-level legislative councils, are constitutionally scheduled to end in 2003.

Amid strong pressure for reform and that his administration to be a transitional one, President B.J. Habibie agreed to end his term this year, instead of in 2003. Subsequently, the councilors' terms would also end this year.

Habibie replaced Soeharto, who was forced to resign in May last year by a massive nationwide student movement. Habibie determined there would be a general election in June and a presidential election in November.

Separately, United Development Party (PPP) councilor M. Husni Bachrum agreed that the payments would be used to pay their debts at the bank.

"We cannot afford to pay our debts at Bank DKI without the allowance," he said.

Another Golkar faction member, Hermansyah Helmi, said the outgoing councilors deserved the payments.

"Demanding the separation allowance is merely our right," Hermansyah said.

Jonggi said each of the 75 outgoing councilors is expected to receive Rp 77 million (US$10,500) from the government.

He estimated that 40 percent of city councilors had used the council's loan facility provided by Bank DKI.

But he doubted that any of the councilors had taken loans of up to Rp 150 million, as some sources have said.

"I can say that the loans range between Rp 5 million to Rp 10 million," Jonggi said.

Hermansyah doubted that Governor Sutiyoso would grant their request, saying that their term would end in only a few days.(03)