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.