Irked businessman spills beans on bribery

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Businessman Fachrul Munir, who failed to get elected during the recent Tangerang mayoral election, alleged on Tuesday that the newly-elected mayor and deputy mayor had bribed councillors to ensure their elections.

However, Munir, 53, also revealed that he too had been up to his neck in money politics.

Munir claimed that he been informed of the alleged bribery by the mayor by one of the 20 Tangerang Council members Munir had already paid off, but who now said they could not return his money before the inauguration of the new mayor and deputy mayor on Nov. 16.

"The councillor said that he and several others would return my money after they received the money that the elected mayor and his deputy promised to be give them after the inauguration," he told reporters.

Not happy with the councillors excuses, Munir said he would not hesitate to take violent action to get his money back.

"I have prepared a team of soldiers to make them return my money and they will start collecting after Nov. 16. If necessary, the soldiers will be driving tanks," he stormed.

Munir has reported the 20 councillors to the police for accepting the money he says he gave them in March. Twelve of them are from President Megawati Soekarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

Although councillors have denied the bribery allegation, Munir said that three PDI Perjuangan councillors and three others from the Nation Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP) and the coalition faction respectively had returned the money.

He said only one PDI Perjuangan member returned the whole Rp 100 million (US$11,765) to him while the others just gave him half of the money they allegedly received on March 15.

Munir said he had given the councillors a total of Rp 2.5 billion, including paying for their accommodation at a hotel near the Soekarno Hatta International Airport and expenses.

He said the councillors had told him that they needed money to campaign for their parties in the next general election and had agreed to sign a statement pledging to support his bid for the office of Tangerang mayor for the 2003-2008 term.

But the council elected the incumbent municipal secretary, Wahidin Halim, as mayor and Deddy Sjafei, executive chairman of the Tangerang chapter of PAN, as deputy mayor in late October.