Golkar defends office ownership

JAKARTA: Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung said on Friday that he would instruct the party secretary general Budi Harsono to study documents regarding the ownership status of the party office in West Jakarta.

He said his party had been regularly paying the taxes for the use of the land and the building.

"We will study the documents to address public concerns," he said, referring to the demands that Golkar return its office building to the state.

He added, however, that Golkar was not the only party to enjoy state facilities. The United Development Party (PPP) and the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) built their offices on state land during the era of former president Soeharto.

Since the fall of Soeharto in May 1998, the government no longer provides parties with office buildings, due to the sheer numbers of political parties. -- JP