Medan councillors to probe corruption

Medan councillors to probe corruption

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Councillors in Medan, North Sumatra, said on Thursday they would
probe the alleged misuse of Rp 7.6 billion (about US$853,000) in
state funds, which were earmarked for aiding the poor following
the recent rise in fuel prices.

The deputy speaker of the Medan Mayoralty, Syahdansyah Putra,
said a team of councillors would search for the missing money
from the total of Rp 21.9 billion alloted to the province last
year for social welfare.

"The subsidy was clearly meant for the people, so the council
will try to return it to them," Syahdansyah told The Jakarta
Post.

He said the council's team would continue the investigation
until they found the perpetrators.

The chairman of the National Mandate faction, Putrama
Alkhairi, said the investigation was an ideal chance for
councillors to clear themselves amid various charges of
corruption and collusion made against them. "This is an important
opportunity to clear the legislature's tainted image," he said.

News of the leakage came from the head of the Regional
Development Planning Board (Bappeda), Hermes Joni, who said
earlier that his office was unable to locate Rp 7.5 billion of
the Rp 21.9 billion Jakarta had disbursed in 2002.

Of the missing funds, Rp 6.57 billion was leaked from programs
under the transportation sector, while the remainder came from
social assistance programs, Hermes said.