No golden handshakes for councillors: Activists

No golden handshakes for councillors: Activists

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Non-governmental organization activists criticized local
administrations across the country, including in Jakarta, for
handing out unofficial "severance packages" to legislative
councillors at the end of their terms.

The activists said there were no regulations to justify
administrations awarding this money or councillors accepting it.

The coordinator of the Indonesian Forum for Budget
Transparency (Fitra), Laode Ida, said on Thursday the public must
oppose this type of activity for two reasons: first, there is no
regulation on the issue and second, it encourages councillors to
represent the administration rather than the public.

"If they want money, they should ask their respective parties
for it," he said at a seminar on the issue.

According to Fitra, the Jakarta administration has allocated
Rp 2.13 billion (US$253,571) in "severance pay" for its 85
councillors, or more than Rp 25 million each. This does not
include the Hyundai cars the councillors received. The cars are
valued at about Rp 64 million.

Forty-five councillors in Bekasi municipality will receive Rp
100 million each, the activist said.

Councillors in Tangerang municipality, however, are not so
lucky, as the local administration there announced earlier that
it would not see the outgoing councillors off with envelopes full
of money.

"We must strongly oppose any state funds being allocated for
these types of unofficial severance packages. That money is
needed for more important things like poverty eradication and
education for the poor," Laode said.

If the Rp 2.13 billion allocated by the Jakarta administration
for the councillors was added to the city's budget for education,
at least 2,234 children would be able to enjoy one year of free
education at the elementary school level.

On average, it costs Rp 953,350 to send a child to elementary
school for one year, according to activists.

In the current city budget, the allocation for education and
health falls below the 30 percent of the total budget stipulated
in the Constitution.

The chairman of the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH
Jakarta), Uli P. Sitompul, said current regulations only allowed
for employees to receive severance pay from their employers.

Quoting Government Regulation No. 110/2000 on compensation for
state officials and Ministry of Home Affairs circular No.
161/2003 on pay for regional councillors, Uli said: "Neither
regulation allows for severance pay for councillors at the end of
their terms."

Laode said councillors were not above accepting the money,
which they would either use for their reelection campaign or for
their retirement.

Jakarta councillor Abdul Azis Matnur from the Justice Party
(PK), however, denied councillors received severance pay.

"Before I came here (to the seminar), I sought information
from Pak Ibnu on this pay and he said there was no such thing,"
he said, referring to council deputy chairman Ibnu Sumantri.