New law cuts funding sources of Golkar

New law cuts funding sources of Golkar

JAKARTA (JP): The new law on political parties has cut the
traditional sources of funding for the ruling party Golkar:
contributions from civil servants and state companies and
government contractors.

While Golkar could, under the law, still solicit money from
individuals and corporations, their contributions are not
automatic as they used to be.

Feisal Tamin, secretary general of the Ministry of Home
Affairs, said the government would curb Golkar's past practices
of "extorting" from civil servants and private and state
corporations.

"With the new regulation, civil servants are no longer
automatically Golkar members. They are not obliged to pay monthly
and annual dues to any political organization," Feisal said.

President B.J. Habibie issued a regulation last week -- to
complement the new law on political parties -- barring civil
servants from joining political parties unless they had the
consent of their immediate superiors.

In the past civil servants automatically became Golkar
members, and their membership dues were deducted from their
salaries.

Feisal said the government would bar state companies and
private companies which have received contracts from the
government from making financial contributions to Golkar.

"The government will be strict on this in order to ensure
companies keep an equal distance from all political parties," he
said.

In the past state companies made large contributions to
Golkar's election campaign and private companies which won
government contracts were obliged to contribute as much as five
percent of a contract's value.

"There was an unwritten agreement between the contractors and
regional administrations," he said.

Besides state companies and government contractors, many
conglomerates also made generous donations to Golkar's coffers in
the past. But this may also be drying up now with many
conglomerates no longer bound to the ruling party.

But even if Golkar was deprived of these traditional sources
of funding, it could still count on the huge volume of funds it
had accumulated in past years, putting it at a major advantage
over all the other parties vying to contest the election in June.

The new political laws which became effective on Feb. 1 limit
the amount of financial contributions an individual and a
corporation can make to a political party to Rp 15 million and Rp
150 million respectively a year. The party's finances must also
be audited by public accountants.

Feisal, who also chairs the Civil Servants Corps (Korpri),
reiterated that with Habibie's ruling on civil servants'
neutrality, Korpri has severed all links with Golkar.

"Ours is now an independent organization. It will keep an
equal distance from all political parties," he said.

He confirmed that President Habibie had amended an earlier
regulation on the political rights of civil servants in
accordance with the wishes of the factions in the House of
Representatives deliberating the political bills.

Under the new regulation, civil servants who are still members
of political parties when the regulation comes into effect would
automatically lose their party membership.

Those who want to retain their party membership must seek the
permission of their immediate superiors within three months.

Those who intend to join political parties must take leave of
absence from their government jobs but they would still be
entitled to receive their basic salary for up to one year.

They could return to their government jobs within one year,
but if they wanted to continue their political career they would
have to resign from the civil service.

While the ruling appeared to have satisfied the political
parties, there were concerns expressed in the regions that some
civil servants might be lured by the prospect of paid leave and
simply join political parties.

Nurdin Manggu, chief of the Southeast Sulawesi Office of the
Ministry of Education and Culture, said in Kendari that there
ought to be special guidelines for state teachers assigned to
remote areas.

"Many teachers in remote areas across the country would be
lured by the offer, and this would be detrimental to the national
education program," Antara quoted Nurdin as saying on Thursday.

He said that there were around 1,000 teachers in remote areas
in Southeast Sulawesi who could potentially demand that they be
relieved of their posts in order to pursue a political career.
(rms)