PDI-P boycotts Council meetings

BOGOR: The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction has boycotted the Bogor Council's plenary session to revise the budget on Saturday, in protest over the detention of deputy mayor M. Sahid, who has been made a suspect in a graft case.

The only PDI-p faction member to attend the meeting was Lismo Handoko, who is a deputy speaker at council.

The seven other members of PDI-P were absent, in addition to a member of the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) who joined the boycott in solidarity.

Factional deliberations into the budget revisions was handed by another PDS member, Tendi Irianto, with the Council speaker Tatang Muchtar. The latter decided to continue the meeting as a quorum had been reached.

Sahid, a PDI-P member, is alleged to have misused his authority as Council speaker during period 1999-2004, causing the municipality to lose some Rp 6 billion (US$666,670). -- JP