Irregularities admitted in statue project
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
While Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso was away at the Indonesia Provincial Administrations Association (APPSI) meeting in Banda Aceh, Jakarta Parks Agency head Mauritz Napitupulu admitted procedural irregularities by the city administration in the construction of Gen. Soedirman statue.
Mauritz told a press conference at the City Hall on Wednesday that his agency had appointed PT Patria Mega Komunika as the contractor without a tender process after Sutiyoso approved the proposal submitted by a company led by Nurhadi, a grandson of Soedirman.
"The governor had agreed that the project was to be implemented by relatives of Gen. Soedirman. Therefore, PT Patria Mega Komunika was directly named for the project," he said.
The presidential decree No. 17/2000 on the procurement for government projects states that all projects must be announced publicly and go through a tender process.
A direct appointment can only be implemented if the project is worth less than Rp 50 million (US$5,882) or must be implemented in an emergency situation.
The Soedirman statue, located on the median strip of Jl. Jend. Sudirman in the Dukuh Atas area of Central Jakarta, did not meet those conditions.
Mauritz also said that the Jakarta administration had changed the size of the two billboards that were leased to the contractor as part of the compensation package, from eight meters by 16 meters to 10 meters by 20 meters.
The billboards, which Patria Mega Komunika leased for Rp 10 billion (Rp 6.5 billion in cash and Rp 3.5 billion for the statue construction), were how the city apparently paid for the Soedirman project. There are 163 city-owned billboards across the city and the size and locations have been decided in a gubernatorial decree.
Mauritz admitted that Sutiyoso did not issue a new decree to change the size of the billboards.
"The governor agreed to change the size of the boards after he consulted officials from the City Spatial Agency and other officials," he said.
Nurhadi told the press that his company had proposed the larger billboards due to "market demand". He said that his clients would only be interested in the advertising space if the they were 10 meters by 20 meters.
The two billboards are located on the right and left hand sides of the main thoroughfare, near the statue.
Mauritz also strongly denied the mark up allegation as reported by Jakarta Development Watch (Jadewa) to police on Tuesday.
He said he had his suspicions that the allegation against him was made because "certain parties" were upset over rejected proposals.
"When I am summoned by the police, I will explain the project transparently," he said.
Mauritz said that he would not make any legal effort to counter Jadewa, which reported him to the police.
Jadewa's executive director Santoso AS had said that based on his NGO's estimation, the Soedirman statue should only have been valued at around Rp 1.79 billion, much lower than the estimated Rp 3.5 billion.
The statue, which was inaugurated by Sutiyoso on Aug. 16, was designed by Sunaryo, a sculptor from the Bandung Institute of Technology.
The 4.5-ton statue standing on a 4.5-meter-high pedestal, was constructed at the request of his descendants. Soedirman was born in 1912 in Bodas Karang Jati village, Rembang regency, Central Java. He was a commander during the fight for independence, and was appointed chief of the Indonesian Military on Nov. 12, 1945.