High-ranking officials

High-ranking officials
drive Harleys illegally

JAKARTA (JP): Former governor Wiyogo Atmodarminto and 10 high
ranking city officials have been using Harley Davidson motorbikes
belonging to the government for private use without proper
procedures, a source said.

The motorbikes were formerly used for guarding presidents and
prime ministers during the 1992 Non-Aligned Movement Summit in
the capital. With the conference over, the right to use the
motorbikes was in the hands of the City Land Transportation
Agency (DLLAJ), according to the source.

However, the source added, Wiyogo, who was then the city
governor, took one of the bikes for himself right after the end
of the summit, while other officials followed suit within the
next three years.

According to the procedures, employees of the city hall could
only own some of the city administration's assets, including
furniture and vehicles, through a bid, 10 years after the
properties were acquired by the city administration.

To date, DLLAJ owns 26 motorbikes, including 14 Harley
Davidsons.

A Harley Davidson costs hundreds of millions of rupiah and is
popular among well-off motorbike aficionados in the country.

Meanwhile, Husein Djawas, the supply division head of city
hall, said that the division had sent a letter to DLLAJ to ask
the for the Harleys to be returned.

"The Harleys will be put in the hall's storage room up until
the bid next year," he said.

Separately, Audi I.Z. Tambunan (who?WWWWWWXXXXX), commented
that the case should be investigated according to the law.

"The bikes, which were bought using tax payers' money, should
be returned to city hall," she remarked. (04)