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)