Prosecutor urged to probe councillors' trips
Prosecutor urged to probe councillors' trips
JAKARTA (JP): Activists urged prosecutors on Thursday to
investigate corruption alleged to have been committed by
councillors in relation to foreign travel they are currently
undertaking.
"There is a lot of preliminary evidence that could be used by
prosecutors to question the councillors," Jakarta Residents Forum
(Fakta) chairman Azas Tigor Nainggolan told The Jakarta Post.
Tigor said that a letter from Anta Tour, a travel agency which
coordinated the trip to Japan and China, indicated that the
travel was only for pleasure and not a comparative study as
claimed by the councillors.
He also said that two recent letters from Indonesian
consulates in Madrid, Spain, and Los Angeles, the United States
of America, also revealed that some councillors only visited
tourist destinations.
"It could be considered to be corruption committed by the
councillors. They have used the public's money for their personal
pleasure," he remarked.
The 2001 City Budget allocated Rp 12 billion (US$1.3 billion)
for councillors' domestic and foreign trips. Half of the fund has
been used.
Tigor said that councillors who participated in the trips
should resign.
"If they don't want to resign, their political parties should
replace them," he said.
Similarly, chairman of the urban division of the Legal Aid
Institute (LBH), Tubagus Karbyanto, said that the councillors
should resign.
He also said that legal action should be taken against the
councillors, even though the councillors seemed "untouchable" and
the process could take time.
Anta Tour's letter stated that some 17 councillors of the
council's commission A for legal and administrative affairs who
departed Indonesia on Sunday, would visit tourist destinations in
Tokyo and Beijing.
The letter stated that the councillors were using Singapore
Airlines flights for their seven-day trip, which is likely to
violate a government regulation.
The regulation states that a state official should use the
national flag carrier for their overseas trips, except when no
flights are made by the national airline to the intended
destination.
Councillor Ugiek Soegihardjo of the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle said that the councillors should have used
Garuda Indonesia, as he had when he traveled to Berlin last year
for a comparative study. He refused to make any further comment
about the trip. (jun)