KPUD unable to explain expenses

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Officials from the Jakarta provincial Elections Commission (KPUD) were unable on Friday to justify expenses in their Rp 168.6 billion (US$17.5 million) budget for 2004, raising suspicions that the bulk of the money has been stolen.

During a hearing with City Council's Commission A for legal and administrative affairs, KPUD members, for example, failed to explain why they paid Rp 170 million in rent for a secretariat and two store houses in the Kepulauan Seribu regency.

Councillor member Rois Hadayana Syaugie told the commission that during a recent visit to the regency local residents told him that the three houses were rented for Rp 12 million, Rp 9 million and Rp 4.5 million respectively.

"Even if we set the rental fees of those houses at Rp 25 million each, including furniture, KPUD should have only spent Rp 71 million (in total) for the three houses," said Roys, stressing that in fact the commission paid Rp 170 million.

The commission also failed to explain inconsistencies in data on the number of waistcoats purchased for election organizers.

The KPUD had said earlier that it bought 250,000 waistcoats, but according to KPUD data submitted to the Council recently, it purchased only 180,000 waistcoats.

The KPUD had spent Rp 12 billion on the waistcoats, meaning it paid Rp 71,000 per piece, far higher than the market price of Rp 25,000.

The commission also failed to present documentation for its so-called voter education program, on which it spent Rp 3.59 billion.

Councillor Vike Verry Ponto said after the hearing that the commission concluded that there was a strong indication that a significant amount of money had been stolen from the KPUD budget during the 2004 elections.

KPUD secretary Abdullah, meanwhile, denied that he was responsible for the disbursement of the Rp 168.6 billion budget. He said that spending was the responsibility of KPUD chairman Muhammad Taufik.

"The KPUD secretary was responsible for Rp 5.4 billion in funds from the state budget," said Abdullah.

Meanwhile, commission A member Inggard Joshua said the city administration should be blamed for the stolen KPUD funds because it had disbursed a large amount of money without assigning responsible officials to manage it.