Minister admits lack of plane maintenance expenses

Minister admits lack of plane maintenance expenses

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono refused on Friday to
speculate on the causes of two military plane crashes in a single
day on Thursday, but admitted that the government spent too
little on maintenance of the country's war machines.

Juwono said only 30 percent of the country's annual defense
budget was allocated for maintenance, while the lion's share went
to soldiers' basic needs.

"I don't want to speculate on whether the accidents happened
because the military planes were not airworthy or due to the poor
condition of the aircraft," Juwono said during a press
conference, which he also used to express his condolences to
military officers killed in the crashes.

"(But) I must to admit that only about 30 percent of the total
defense budget has been spent on maintenance purposes, because we
have to allocate more for administrative uses, including the
money that covers soldiers' needs," Juwono said.

A CN-235 military version crashed on landing at Malikul Saleh
air base in Lhokseumawe, Aceh on Thursday, after mechanical
failure, killing three of the 23 officers aboard. Just five hours
earlier an aging OV-10 Bronco Air Force plane crashed in the
forested areas near the peak of Mount Limas on Java during a
routine exercise, leaving its two crewmen dead.

The House approved a Rp 21.9 trillion (US$2.4 billion) defense
budget for this current fiscal year, a slight increase from Rp
21.4 trillion last year.

The country's military materiel has been steadily
deteriorating as a result of 13 years of arms embargoes imposed
by the United States and others due to gross human rights
violations in East Timor, allegedly perpetrated by Indonesian
military officers.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) has repeatedly claimed that
nearly 70 percent of its equipment was inoperable because it had
no access to spare parts.

The CN-235 plane was jointly produced by Spain's CASA and
Indonesian aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia in 1995.
Indonesia bought OV-10 Broncos from the U.S. Marines in 1978,
almost 20 years since the light bombers became operational.

The TNI has relied greatly on the bombers during its offensive
against Aceh rebels. An Air Force officer said only 10 of the
remaining 12 Broncos were eligible to fly.

Following the Dec. 26 tsunami that ravaged Aceh and Nias,
Washington partially lifted the embargo to enable the TNI to
deploy transport planes to conduct humanitarian relief mission
there.

The Indonesian Procurement Watch (IPW) non-governmental
organization has blamed rampant corruption in the military for
making matters worse. IPW claims that corruption has caused the
TNI to lose much of its government-allocated money, funds that
are needed to procure or maintain equipment.

In a bid to boost efficiency within the TNI, Juwono has
proposed revisions of existing regulations on procurement.

Juwono further promised to draft a new policy on the budget
allocations for the military.