House leaders told to step into bill row

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)