People refuse to pay polling booth funds
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)