Lawmaker denies 'selling relief funds'

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A legislator, alleged to be involved in the scandalous "sale" of state budgets, said here on Thursday he had received budget proposals from regents and mayors from more 40 regions because of his success rate in getting them accepted.

Legislator Mudahir from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said the proposals were requests for 2005 disaster aid in areas which were mostly outside of his constituency.

"I received a lot of proposals from (regional leaders) because I'm a nice person. I help people, who said they were having difficulties getting to their representatives here," he said after being questioned by the House disciplinary body for over two hours.

Mudahir was elected in West Nusa Tenggara, an area which hit the headlines this year after severe malnutrition cases there came to light.

Documents circulating in the House contain Mudahir's name as one of the "coordinators" of relief funds, as well as the name of his assistant in the House, A. Mustakim, who has not been seen since the scandal came to light a few weeks ago.

Mudahir said he had entrusted Mustakim to examine the proposals, which were directly submitted by regents and mayors in a number of meetings in the House and in Jakarta hotels. He had later followed them up with legislators.

"But I never asked for any money or fee or whatever. Neither did Mustakim that I know of. If he had sold (funds using) my name, I would have been the first to report him to the police. All of his actions were under my control," he said.

Despite this control, Mudahir said he did not know where Mustakim's house was when the disciplinary body asked questions about his whereabouts. He denied he was keeping Mustakim out of sight but also said be believed Mustakim was still in the country.

The House body plans to question Mustakim on Monday, delivering a summons letter to him through Mudahir.

Mudahir also denied joining a meeting with regents in South Sulawesi early this year. That meeting was earlier confirmed by fellow PDI-P legislators Emir Moeis and Jacobus Mayong Padang, who said it was to familiarize the regents on the mechanisms of state budget disbursement.

Disciplinary body chairman Slamet Effendi Yusuf said Mudahir admitted receiving budget proposals that were also compiled by "fellow legislators from the same floor".

Most of the names contained in circulating documents are legislators from the PDI-P, including Emir, the House budgetary committee chairman.

Slamet said Mustakim was not an assistant provided by the House, but was appointed by Mudahir and received no regular salary.

Mustakim is the son of a former regent of Sidrap in South Sulawesi, who is now a member of the local general elections commission.

Slamet said, while he was visiting regions last week to investigate the case, a regent told him that asking for fees were a common practice by House members.

"He said: 'If you ask them for funds with a verbal request, you get verbal responses. If you ask with papers, you get papers. But if you ask with 'that thing', that's what you get,'" Slamet said.

The illegal sale of disaster relief funds, allegedly involves House budgetary committee members who reportedly ask for "fees" from local officials to help increase the amount of the funds.

The disciplinary body also quizzed on Thursday legislator Bursah Zarnubi, a deputy in the budgetary committee, over a document authorizing the disbursement of Rp 284 billion (US$28.1 million) worth of disaster funds with his signature on it.