Lombok villagers get cash payments for nothing

Lombok villagers get cash payments for nothing

Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram

Villagers in West Nusa Tenggara have been receiving assurances
from an Islamic foundation that it will provide them with
individual payouts of Rp 400,000 per month without expecting
anything in return.

People at Darek village in Praya Barat Daya, Central Lombok,
are busy thinking about what to spend the money on once they
begin receiving the monthly allowances, which will last for at
least five years, beginning this April.

The pledges have come from the Foundation for Islamic Ahli
Sunnah Wal Jamaah Mission (Yamisa), whose central headquarters is
based in Jakarta.

Mohammad Nur, chairman of Yamisa's Mataram branch, said that
the money is from a fund comprised of the inheritances of the
Indonesia's past monarchs: Sriwijaya, Blambangan, Majapahit,
Mataram, Bali, Kediri, and Padjajaran.

He claimed that the wealth, seized by past colonial forces,
has been under direct control of his foundation, and that it
would soon be distributed to Indonesian people.

Part of the money, he added, also came from accounts in Swiss
banks that had been saved by Indonesia's first president, the
late Sukarno.

Some Rp 60 trillion of the funds, currently deposited in the
BNI, BCA and BII banks, have been allocated for the people of
Lombok, Nur added.

"Yamisa will distribute fairly to all people, except for high-
ranking civil servants, and police or military officers."

Under the plan, regency administrators are also supposed to
get a share, with the amount of money adjusted to a ratio based
on the size of the population, and the size of regions.

For Lombok's government, the share will be Rp 2.5 billion per
three months.

"We are not selling promises or dreams -- this money belongs
to the Indonesian people, and it will be distributed to all, free
of any personal agenda," YAMISA top chairman Abdurahman said
during a ceremony on Saturday for the installation of hundreds of
his foundation members in Lombok.

At least 12 branch offices, including one in the West Nusa
Tenggara capital of Mataram, have been established across the
island, with a total of 300 executives and members.

Such promises did not interest local administrations. Mataram
Mayor Mohammad Ruslan, for one, has even banned the foundation
from operating within his territory.

"I suggest villagers not be so swiftly lulled by these
promises," he said.

It remains unclear whether the ban will be effective or not.

Lalu Junaidi, head of the city's Information and
Communications Bureau, told The Jakarta Post that the ban was
imposed due to Yamisa's failure to coordinate with government at
the local level.

"People already under economic pressure will quickly believe
in the promises ... but if they are not fulfilled, they could
start rioting," he said.

Nur admitted that Yamisa does not need to cooperate with local
governments or legislative councils in the distribution of the
funds, as it is the policy of the foundation's central
headquarters in Jakarta.

He argued that it is sufficient that only President Megawati
Soekarnoputri and Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno, along
with military and police commanders, know about the existence of
the foundation.

Ironically, despite claiming to control the hidden treasure,
Yamisa requires candidates to pay Rp 250,000 each to serve as
executives. In a return, they will respectively get Rp 16 million
for their monthly salary.

For members, the foundation charges a Rp 15,000 enrollment fee
in order to receive Rp 5 million each every month.

"Heads of Yamisa branches will be paid Rp 500 million per
month," Nur said.

Many local officials and villagers said they do not want to be
cheated by such strange promises, and called on authorities to
take stern actions against Yamisa leaders should their claims
found to be fraudulent.

"If it turns out to be only lies, the police must move to
arrest them," Lalu Rusmadi, one villager from Darek, told the
Post.