ICW chairman urges councillors to revise budget

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Chairman of the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), Teten Masduki, criticized Governor Sutiyoso and the City Council for allocating Rp 17.83 billion (US$ 1.783 million) for several council sessions, including Sutiyoso's budget speech.

He also said spending such a large amount of money only for the councillors stipend was illogical.

"It's a kind of legal bribe which has been resulting in a collusion between the city administration and the councillors," Teten told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

He also called on the councillors to revise the budget and reallocate the funds for more productive activities which results can be directly enjoyed by the needy people in the city.

Chairwoman of the council's budget committee, Anna Rudhiantiana had confirmed the city had allocated Rp 17.83 billion fund for the councillors last year. The councillors would likely receive a similar amount this year, said another councillor Jannes Pardose.

The Rp 17.83 billion is a small part of the total Rp 88.39 billion allocated for the councillors annually.

By accepting the money, the councillors have abused the public trust. It means they have been colluding with the executives for their own interests, Teten said.

But Pardose turned down the statement, saying there is nothing wrong with the budget as it was already decided by 30 members of the budget committee, representing all factions in the council.

He also said the budget for the council was only 1 percent of the total city budget.

"It's relatively small compared to other provinces' budget allocation for their respective councils. In average, the budget for the council reaches 5 percent in other provinces," claimed Pardose.

Sutiyoso said the council has arranged its own budget without any interference from the executive.

"They have arranged the budget themselves as stated in the bylaw (on the budget). The administration won't and can't interfere."

Sutiyoso did not respond when asked if the budget for councillors must be scrapped. He simply said: "As a governor, the most important thing is paying attention to the poor people."