Nation should be ashamed of ongoing riots: Mar'ie

JAKARTA (JP): The chairman of Social Safety Net Supervision, Mar'ie Muhammad, said on Friday rioting in many parts of the country would not be brought to an end by indiscriminate blaming.

The former minister of finance said the nation should be ashamed with the ongoing violence, which had tarnished the country's image.

"Let us show to the world that we are a civilized nation, a civilized society," Mar'ie said, after meeting with President B.J. Habibie at Merdeka Palace.

Mar'ie, chairman of the Indonesian Community for Humanity supervising the use of the safety net funds, said his organization would launch a massive humanitarian operation to help refugees in riot-torn West Kalimantan, Maluku, East Timor and other provinces until there was a return to normalcy.

He said an emergency fund was needed to finance the operation and the President had agreed to provide state funds for the charitable works.

He confirmed that he spoke with the President about various programs including the government's plan to spend Rp 7.8 trillion (US$906 million) during the 1999/2000 fiscal year to provide subsidized rice to about 80 million poor people across the country.

A similar program last year expended Rp 1.1 trillion. The rice was sold for Rp 1,000 per kilogram.

Mari'e declined to elaborate on the progress of his investigation on the much-criticized social safety net programs, funded by the government and world organizations.

"We are still waiting for the government's response," he said in response to questions regarding letters he recently sent to several ministries, asking them about alleged misuse of the safety net funding.

Last year, international organizations including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund criticized Indonesia for a lack of transparency in the disbursement of the Rp 17.8 trillion social safety net fund.

In February, Mar'ie said only 30 percent of the fund had been distributed to needy people, due to lack of cooperation among state agencies.

He recently sent a letter to remind Central Java Governor Mardiyanto that all poor people, not only Golkar supporters, had the right to receive cheap rice from the government.

Mar'ie cited reports from Banjarnegara and Cilacap in Central Java where only Golkar supporters were given the subsidized rice. Other people allegedly were forced to buy it at higher prices.

The Cenderawasih Pos daily reported in March a number of abuses of the funds in Jayapura, Irian Jaya. Local officials allegedly pocketed the money or distributed it to relatives or close friends.

Jayapura authorities reported they had given Rp 25 million to a group of 60 taxi drivers for a taxi procurement program.

"In fact, the money was only used by six people including the subdistrict chief," the daily reported. (prb/34)