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.