Rp 5.1 million

Rp 5.1 million per councillor?

From Suara Karya

Several members of the Jakarta legislature have reportedly demanded a budget for official suits at Rp 5.1 million per councillor. If this is true, the respectable members of the City Council should feel ashamed for buying expensive suits amid the difficult lives faced by most citizens under the protracted economic crisis.

With the rainy season drawing ever close, it would be wiser to spend the budget on preventative measures against floods in Jakarta, which usually cause much strife and losses to the poor.

In the meantime, street children are neglected, victims of the recent Marriott hotel bombing need assistance, workers are dismissed, rivers in Jakarta remain polluted and traffic jams continue to prevail.

I would like to appeal to Jakarta councillors to inspect the capital's slum areas and use the fund for the purchase of aid packages of basic necessities to help poor families.

TUTIEK W. Jakarta