No more funds for PPD I, governor Sutiyoso says
No more funds for PPD I, governor Sutiyoso says
JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso said on Wednesday that his
administration had decided not to allocate any further funds for
the Jakarta Provincial Elections Committee (PPD I).
"It (financial assistance for PPD I) has been final," Sutiyoso
told reporters as he hastily entered his office at City Hall.
He refused to explain further.
But Sutiyoso's remark was contrary to a statement from the
committee's chairman, Djafar Badjeber, who said later in the day
that PPD I had received Rp 12.5 million from the city
administration.
The fund, proposed to the administration recently by PPD I, is
intended for paying the committee members for the two days they
spent reexamining documents concerning the 76 city council
candidates.
"I have received reports from members of the team for the
document verification that the fund has been paid to the PPD I
secretariat," he told The Jakarta Post.
In a letter dated July 14, the PPD I team initially requested
the administration to provide Rp 80 million to compensate them
for their efforts, which would include examining the councilor
candidates' identification cards, school certificates and
diplomas and medical records.
All 48 members of PPD I are on the team.
But team chairman Harun Al Rasyid said he sent another letter
on the following day in which he lowered the request to "only Rp
10 million".
According to Djafar, PPD I demanded financial help from the
administration since it did not have the funds to cover the extra
work.
"So, don't be too suspicious, as the fund is like wages for
their work," he said.
Djafar said the fund would be distributed equally among all 48
committee members.
Separately, head of the committee's program division Muchamad
Taufik said that so far 80 percent of the councilor candidates
had submitted their documents to PPD I.
"We still give them time to complete and hand over their
documents before Aug. 1," he said.
Taufik said the team found that several candidates' documents
did not match those submitted earlier during the listing of
temporary legislative candidates.
"So far, we have found that about 5 to 10 percent of cases do
not match," he said, referring to the 80 percent of candidates
who had already submitted documents.
Taufik said that the committee would send the results of the
reexamination to the related political parties.
"The parties should then replace the candidates who have
submitted different documents," he said. (ind)