Legislators use govt funds on haj, minister forgives
Legislators use govt funds on haj, minister forgives
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government has decided to look the other way and write-off
the expenditure incurred on 46 legislators who allegedly used
their status to gain access to state facilities during personal
haj pilgrimages in Saudi Arabia last month.
According to reports, none of the 46 were on an official haj
pilgrimage. In fact, some were not even supposed to be in Saudi
Arabia as they were on an official trip to another part of the
world.
Minister of Religious Affairs Said Agil Husin Al Munawar was
content to merely shrug and smile when pressed by reporters about
the incident, pledging only that it would not happen again next
year.
"They were already there," Said Agil replied when asked why he
allowed them to use official facilities. However he refused to
reveal the total amount spent on accommodating them.
The scandal came to fore on Monday when members of the House
of Representative's Commission VI on Tourism, Culture and
Education during a hearing with Said Agil asked why the minister
extended facilities to the 46 legislators who, apparently out of
the blue, arrived in Saudi Arabia and demanded to be accorded
privileges for the haj pilgrimage.
Thirty-three members of Commission IV on Infrastructure and
Transportation Affairs had arrived in Saudi Arabia at the
invitation of the national flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia.
According to reports, upon their arrival they demanded to be
included in the state's haj entourage even though they had not
been previously listed for inclusion.
They were joined by another group of 13 legislators, led by
Deputy House Speaker A.M. Fatwa, who were actually on an official
visit to Cuba, Japan and the United States. It is unclear how
they made such a convenient detour and landed in the Middle East.
The 46 legislators also took part in the haj without the
appropriate travel documents and visas. They also traveled using
service passports instead of the mandatory haj passports.
House members get annual privileges of being included in the
official haj entourage with each of the nine commissions being
allotted a limited number of places.
Said Agil commended on Monday the members of Commission VI who
complied with the allocated five places they were given.
While Said Agil could only sigh, the members of Commission VI
were less forgiving.
Ronggo Sunarso of the Indonesian Military/Police faction urged
the minister to take strong measures to avoid creating an
undesirable precedent.
Abduh Paddare of the United Development Party faction
regretted not only the abuse of status for such a holy event but
also the misuse of the public's money.