House leaders told to step into bill row
JAKARTA (JP): Observers called yesterday on the House of Representatives' leaders to step into the row over the use of a state-owned firm's money for legislators deliberating the manpower bill.
Tajuddin Noer Said, a former Golkar legislator, and Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) legislator Markus Wauran suggested that the House ask the Supreme Audit Agency to study the disbursement of Rp 3.1 billion (US$911,000) of the workers' social insurance company PT Jamsostek, upon the request of the Minister of Manpower Abdul Latief.
Chairman of the United Development Party (PPP) faction Hamzah Haz stepped up the pressure, urging House leaders to ask for explanation from Latief.
Jamsostek president Abdillah Nusi defended Wednesday his decision to disburse the funds originally allotted to protect workers and membership expenditure. He said the reallocation of the funds was not against the law and was in line with the company's objective to improve the protection of workers.
He argued that the law would eventually protect workers.
The Manpower Law was signed by Soeharto on Oct. 4 and will be effective from October next year.
Tajuddin, who joined the House special committee deliberating the bill, said the House leaders could ask the Supreme Audit Agency to review the audit of Jamsostek following Abdillah's confession.
"It is such a huge amount that I cannot believe it was only for hotel expenses. It's hard to accept the explanation (from Abdillah). I would like Latief to talk to the House," Tajuddin said.
He said the House was a political institution with competency to ask the audit agency to investigate the case.
The Supreme Audit Agency regularly discloses its auditing of state assets twice a year to House leaders, and not to the legislative body as a whole.
Chairman of the audit agency J.B. Sumarlin revealed in his last meeting with House leaders earlier this month that 4,451 cases of irregularities and inefficiency had caused state losses of billions of rupiah.
Jamsostek was on the list of dubious companies in terms of efficiency after the agency said in its report that the insurance company might have wasted more than Rp 63 billion in the construction of its skyscraper on Jl. Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta.
Incentives
Hamzah said the PPP faction had formally asked the House leaders to ask for Latief's explanation and if necessary summon him to a plenary hearing.
He said he had started investigating whether any members of the Moslem-based faction had taken the alleged bribes.
Another PPP legislator, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, said she and her fellow House committee members did receive "incentives" from the government during the two months of the energy-sapping bill deliberation.
"Incentives given in a bill deliberation have long become a tradition in the House. Why do people turn on us while this practice also applies in other deliberations?" she was quoted as saying by Antara in Surabaya.
She said the incentives varied, depending on the capability of the ministry that sponsored a bill.
Legal expert Muladi supported the reallocation of funds, saying that they were intended to improve workers' welfare.
"I believe that Jamsostek does not have vested interests in its decision to provide the funds," Muladi said during a break in the People's Consultative Assembly session here.
He said the reallocation of a state-owned company's funds was acceptable as long as it did not cost the government, was dedicated merely to public services and free from personal motives.
However, Muladi, also rector of the Semarang-based Diponegoro University, hailed the legal examination of Jamsostek's policy to finance the bill deliberation. (amd)