Govt probes councillors' Rp 25b gift

Govt probes councillors' Rp 25b gift

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Ministry of Home Affairs has begun an investigation into
reports that Rp 25 billion (US$2.8 million) was given to West
Java councillors from the provincial budget, an official said on
Wednesday.

The head of the West Java Regional Supervisory Board
(Bawasda), Sobarna, said he had turned over the case to the
inspectorate general of the home affairs ministry to avoid any
conflicts of interest.

"We are no longer handling the case because of Bawasda's
difficult position. After all, the governor is in charge of the
board," Sobarna said.

West Java's councillors have come under fire over reports that
they had demanded and received Rp 25 billion in cash from the
local administration.

Governor R. Nuriana reportedly has disbursed Rp 250 million to
each of the council's 100 members since late 1999.

According to those who received the money, councillors are
traditionally given a gift from the local administration, usually
plots of land. However, the current crop of councillors
reportedly asked for cash instead.

News of the money, and the gift-giving tradition between the
administration and the council, leaked when two councillors
attempted to return their Rp 250 million late last month. The
local administration, however, refused to take back the money.

Sobarna said he was unsure whether the gifts were improper.
"Isn't budgeting the council's right?"

Theoretically, he added, the disbursement of the money
followed proper budgetary procedures, as it was approved by the
council and the administration.

Governor Nuriana said he was ready and willing to be
investigated by the home ministry's inspectorate general.

"Why shouldn't I be ready? After all, we disbursed the funds
at the request of the council," he said.

Meanwhile, the two councillors who attempted to return their
money, Yudi Widiana Adhia and Reza Nasrullah, said they were now
the targets of criticism by their peers.

Since the case came to light, the West Java council building
has remained virtually empty. A group of activists from the
Indonesian Muslim Student Action Unit saw only one councillor at
the building when they rallied there on Wednesday.