Kalimantan government rejects councillors' Rp 5.4b proposal

Rusman, Samarinda, East Kalimantan

The East Kalimantan government has rejected a proposal submitted by the province's 45 councillors for Rp 5.4 billion (US$600,000), or Rp 120 million each, to be used toward "operational activities" ahead of September, when their five-year terms will end.

According to a provincial government decree dated May 24, a copy of which was obtained on Thursday by The Jakarta Post, the rejection was made on the grounds that the request was in breach of Government Regulation No. 110/2000 on financial affairs of legislative councils.

Under the regulation, the operational funds of a legislative council is limited to a maximum Rp 2.5 billion if the provincial revenue exceeds Rp 500 billion.

East Kalimantan's 2003 revenue was Rp 604.4 billion.

"Based on this figure, the request for Rp 5.4 billion, which was made in mid-May, is disproportionate and must be rejected," explained Mur'an Latif, head of the provincial finance agency.

The staggering sum was proposed to be used by East Kalimantan councillors for operational activities, such as visiting constituents in remote areas.

Separately, the coordinator of the council's budget committee, Kasyful Anwar As'ad, said he was not at all surprised by the government's decision, as the request was excessive and improper.

Local anticorruption activists had alleged the proposal was an attempt by the council to enrich its members before their terms' end, as it had not succeeded in securing severance pay for them.

Last month, the Padang District Court convicted 43 West Sumatra councillors in a high-profile corruption case for embezzling Rp 6.4 billion from the 2002 provincial budget through a similar proposal for "extra allowances".