House to summon state secretary over presidential donation
House to summon state secretary over presidential donation
Kurniawan Hari and Anastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
House of Representatives Commission I will seek an explanation
from State Secretary Bambang Kesowo over Rp 30 billion in
presidential aid passed to the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the
National Police.
Ibrahim Ambong, who chairs the commission, which oversees
security and political affairs, said on Tuesday that the hearing
with Bambang had been arranged to take place as soon as the House
recess ended in May.
"Pak Bambang has agreed with this schedule," Ibrahim said.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri provided a Rp 30 billion
donation using nonbudgetary funds, known as Banpres, to
rehabilitate housing occupied by TNI families and National Police
rank and file members in February. Extrabudgetary expenditure is
no longer allowed in the country.
A motion has been lodged by 28 legislators from different
factions to summon the President to clarify the issue, but
Megawati has suggested that it be discussed in a hearing with the
House commission.
Ambong said, during the proposed hearing with Bambang, that
legislators would question the source of the funds and its
management.
"I think we can trace those funds, whether they came from
business or the state companies," he added.
Meanwhile, one of those supporting the interpellation motion,
Afni Achmad, said that the hearing with Bambang would not stop
the legislators from pressing ahead with their demand for a House
inquiry into the donation.
"We want transparency concerning the source and the management
of the Banpres funds," he said.
Chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) Roy B. Janis, said that the party would wait until
the House reconvened after its recess to discuss the much-
disputed Banpres funds.
According to Roy, Megawati, who also chairs the party, had
ordered an audit of the Banpres funds as soon as she assumed
power in July last year. The audit was intended to reveal the
exact amount of the funds.
"Therefore, we suggest that an investigation of presidents who
preceded Megawati should be carried out to trace the
approximately Rp 1 trillion that appears to have gone missing, as
according to the State Secretary/Cabinet Secretary Bambang Kesowo
the Banpres total was only Rp 330 billion," Roy said after a
party regular meeting on Tuesday.