Mark up suspected in 'flag fund'
Mark up suspected in 'flag fund'
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Irregularities were found in the proposed Rp 3.5 billion (US$411,765) budget to relocate Bendera Pusaka (original national flag) from the State Palace to the independence room at the National Monument (Monas).
Some Rp 1.3 billion of the budget will be spent for a security system and equipment in which the city will provide three 14-inch television sets, each valued at Rp 10 million in the proposed budget. The price of a 14-inch TV on the market is around Rp 2 million.
City spokesman Muhayat could not explain the marked difference in the prices but only said that the price, as stated in the proposal, was only an estimate.
"The final price of the items will be decided through tender," Muhayat told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
The three TV sets will be used to monitor the room from the State Palace and City Hall.
Head of the City Culture and Museum Agency Nurhadi said that the budget would also be used to purchase other security equipment including infrared motion detectors, glass breaking detectors, indoor sirens, auto voice dialers and smoke and heat detectors.
The Rp 3.5 billion budget would be taken from the 2003 revised city budget, which was approved by the City Council on Monday. Councillors approved to provide an additional amount of Rp 576.943 billion, bringing the total city budget to Rp 11.562 trillion.
Despite the approval, councillors also called on the city administration to improve its performance as it could only spend 25 percent of its budget in the first semester.
Nurhadi said that some Rp 1.09 billion would be allocated to purchase 15 kilograms of gold to coat the box which will be used to keep the historic flag, hand-sewn by former First Lady Fatmawati, in the Independence Room. Other historical items such as the proclamation text, the Nusantara (archipelago) map and the Garuda statue will also be plated in gold.
Other allocations will be for the flag relocation itself at Rp 105.6 million, consultancy payment Rp 229.19 million and the relocation ceremony Rp 500 million.
Monas management office director Surya Dharma Basri said that the event was expected to be conducted on Oct. 28 in conjunction with the Youth Pledge Day commemoration.
Governor Sutiyoso had earlier proposed a Rp 6.5 billion budget for the relocation of the flag, adding that the flag would not be folded.
It is not the first time that the administration has been criticized for padding its projects' budgets.
In March, the administration was criticized by non- governmental organizations for allocating Rp 412 million for the construction of an 81-square-meter classroom. The market price for such a room is less than Rp 200 million.