People refuse to pay polling booth funds

JAKARTA (JP): Residents in a number of subdistricts yesterday expressed objections to the imposition of payments to make polling booths for voting day tomorrow.

Andrie, a father of three, said he and his neighbors in Kawi- Kawi, Johar Baru subdistrict in Central Jakarta have been asked to pay between Rp 5,000 (US$2) to Rp 10,000 to set up polling booths in the area.

"It's ridiculous, because I don't think it's our responsibility to pay money to make polling booths," he said.

The Central Election Committee provides Rp 16,000 -- Rp 14,000 for the polling station and Rp 2,000 for the padding to puncture party symbols -- and the city provides Rp 25,000 for each polling station.

There will be 12,482 polling booths in the city with 7,453,416 voters, including those voting overseas. Each booth will therefore serve about 600 voters.

The booths will be scattered across the city with Central Jakarta having 1,855, North Jakarta 1,848, West Jakarta 2,737, South Jakarta 2,739 and West Jakarta 3,303, plus mobile booths for hospitals and prisons.

Zaiman Ahmad, a leader of a neighborhood on Jl. Gotong Royong, Pondok Bambu, East Jakarta, said many residents refused to contribute funds to build a polling booth in the area.

"The residents said funds for a polling booth should come from the government," Zaiman said.

Gozali, an ojek motorcycle taxi driver in Mampang Prapatan, South Jakarta, said he always hides in his house whenever his neighborhood leader comes to collect funds.

"I hide because that's too much money for me," he said.

Zaiman said he had spent Rp 60,000 for 10 sheets of plywood for the polling booth.

He said a worker who would build the polling booth was usually paid Rp 15,000 a day. He needed at least three workers.

He said that he proposed to raise money through donations but he was rejected by an election committee chairman in the neighborhood.

"So I just took a personal approach to those who would like to donate voluntarily," he said.

Residents told The Jakarta Post that the imposed payment was burdensome for them and preferred to spend that amount of money on basic necessities.

"That's equal to my daily wage. My family would starve if I paid it," said Rudi Machmud, a plumber on Jl. Bluntas, in Paseban, Central Jakarta.

He said his neighbors had also refused to donate when a donation list was circulated among them.

Some neighborhood leaders are considerate enough not to ask the poor.

Demoro, a neighborhood leader, said he understood the problems faced by his people, but he was forced to procure funds given the limited budget provided by the subdistrict leader.

He said he only got Rp 25,000, and that was the price of a sheet of plywood and two wood beams.

"We still need more, so we can buy canvas for the roof and rent chairs," he said.

According to Demoro, he was not the only one who faced a shortage of funds. Neighborhood leaders from the Paseban subdistrict will meet Central Jakarta Mayor Abdul Kahfi today to discuss the matter, he said.

"With this problem, how can I make Thursday's voting in my area a success, as had been told by my superiors?" asked Demoro who heads a neighborhood of 50 families.

Meanwhile in Bogor, an official of the regional election committee said that his office had not imposed any financial burdens on residents for polling booth construction.

"We will tap the regional state budget when allocated funds from the government are not enough," said A.R. Siregar, secretary of the regional election committee. (03/jun/ste/24)