Four printing consortia face KPU sanctions

Four printing consortia face KPU sanctions

Moch. N. Kurniawan and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The General Elections Commission (KPU) said on Tuesday it would
kick out ballot paper tender winners for allegedly subcontracting
their job without the commission's consent.

"This is a violation of the contract. We shall dismiss them
from the printing process," KPU chairman Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin
said on Tuesday.

KPU is also waiting until Thursday to decide whether to offer
the opportunity to firms that could print quickly, including
members of the Newspaper Publishers Union (SPS), to participate
in ballot paper printing, which has been delayed for four weeks
due to the late completion of templates.

Nazaruddin refused to comment on possible involvement of KPU
members and officials in the contract violation.

KPU member Mulyana W. Kusumah said on Saturday the commission
had found four companies that subcontracted their printing job to
other firms without approval from KPU.

The companies are identified only by their acronyms JT, JAI,
WLP and DR. Documents obtained by The Jakarta Post revealed the
companies had dubious financial capability and tax payment
records.

However, KPU selected them anyway from 18 companies that won
the tender to print 660 million ballot papers. One of the firms
withdrew.

According to KPU data, JT has been ordered to print 12.3
million papers, JAI 9.1 million, WLP 8.3 million and DR 12.9
million.

KPU has demonstrated a poor ability to organize the tender
from the outset.

In the Rp 311 billion ballot box tender, Survindo Indah
Prestasi was declared the winner, even though it had a record of
weak financial ability, with sales of only Rp 13 billion in 2002
and no sales between January and August 2003. Later on, the
company failed to produce ballot boxes on schedule, forcing the
KPU to cut the contract and give it to second-ranked PT Tjakrindo
Mas and third-ranked CV Almas.

In the Rp 40 billion indelible ink tender, six of eight
bidders that reached the final stage had recorded low or zero
sales in the last two years.

In the Rp 13 billion ballot paper tender, 11 of 21 bidders
were financially weak.

Separately, KPU member Mulyana W. Kusumah, chairman of the
ballot paper printing tender, said if the printing had not shown
good progress by March 4, KPU would turn to firms that could
print quickly, including those in SPS.

"As a possible solution, it is OK," he said.

With regard to election security, Indonesian Military (TNI)
Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto asked on Tuesday the National
Police to involve soldiers from the start.

"The police will be on the front line, while the military will
provide backup. I hope the National Police leadership will deploy
police and TNI personnel together, because extinguishing a fire
is more difficult than preventing one," Endriartono said on the
sidelines of a seminar on security threats ahead of the election.

Particularly in war-torn Aceh, where the military is fighting
rebels, Endriartono said TNI would keep away from ballot boxes.

He also reiterated his promise to help the KPU distribute
election materials across the nation.