Firm halts ballot box production

JAKARTA: Survindo Indah Prestasi, the troubled firm contracted to produce 60 percent of the ballot boxes needed for the country's general elections, had suspended its production, the General Elections Commission (KPU) admitted on Thursday.

KPU deputy secretary general Susongko Suhardjo said production had stopped because the firm's factories had run out of aluminum - the raw material needed to produce the boxes.

The problem emerged after Survindo had completed production of 310,000 boxes, he said.

Survindo won a bid to produce 60 percent of the 2.19 million ballot boxes for the upcoming elections, last year. After earlier production problems, the company was acquired by PT Amindo in December.

Under its new management, the firm had planned to shift the production of the ballot boxes to nine new factories.

The move was disputed by the firm's former management on Wednesday who said it could constitute a breach of contract. It was still not clear on Thursday if and when the nine new factories would start their production.

KPU said it would make a decision about the matter on Monday. It said it had canceled a plan to re-evaluate the proportions of boxes Survindo and rival firm PT Tjakrindo Mas were producing.-JP