Medan attorney urged to probe corruption in truck sale

Medan attorney urged to probe corruption in truck sale

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

The recent sale of 76 used trucks belonging to state-owned PD
Kebersihan in Medan, North Sumatra, at discounted prices has
sparked sharp criticism and raised suspicion that corrupt
practices were at hand.

O.K. Azhari, a member of Medan legislative council Commission
C on state-owned companies, accused PD Kebersihan of lying to the
public when the company -- which was in charge of keeping the
city clean, including the transportation of garbage to dump sites
-- announced that the used trucks were no longer feasible for
operation.

"According to my investigations, most of these trucks are
still feasible for operation," he told The Jakarta Post here on
Thursday.

He said the trucks were assembled in 1976 and had been parked
close to the city in Sembahe, Marindal and Kampung Lalang. He
added that all their engines and bodies were still in a good
condition.

"It is surprising that PD Kebersihan has auctioned the
trucks," he said.

The strange thing, he added, was that the 76 trucks were all
sold for a total of Rp 26 million through a closed auction last
December.

"There must something wrong with the auction process because,
according to normal market prices, the total for all the trucks
combined should have been at least Rp 500 million," he said.

According to him, the prosecutor's office should investigate
the auction of the trucks and take tight measures against those
allegedly involved in the deal.

Azhari said the other thing that had raised suspicion among
legislators was the fact that PD Kebersihan had chartered 10
trucks belonging to a local businessman, to strengthen its 85
trucks used to dump the city's garbage.

"The city administration has, on the one hand, said that it
was running short of garbage trucks, but, on the other hand, it
has sold its still operational trucks and chartered 10 new trucks
at an unfeasibly high cost," he said.

The city administration was faced with a serious garbage
problem last November when it lacked adequate trucks and nearby
dump sites. "This is evidence that the city administration is not
professional in handling garbage matters, while corruption is
still prevalent in the local bureaucracy," said Azhari.

Amar Pane, president of PD Kebershihan, told the Post that the
selling of the used trucks had been approved by the city's mayor
and the auction was conducted in accordance with official
procedures.

He said he had proposed selling the used trucks after
receiving a recommendation from the local government's audit
office (BPKP).

"BPKP proposed to us to phase out the 76 used trucks from our
inventory and asset books, as they were considered to have
reached the end of their useful life," he said, citing only 6
percent of the trucks were feasible for operation.

Ikhwaluddin Simatupang of Medan Legal Aid (LBH), called on the
prosecutor's office to investigate the allegation of corruption
in the auction.

"Something wrong has happened in the auction and the company's
president and Medan Mayor Abdillah must be held responsible for
the case," he said.