Sculptor says Rp 1.2b Soedirman statue cost

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

More alleged irregularities in the construction of Soedirman statue on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, were seemingly revealed as its sculptor, Soenaryo, admitted on Thursday that the value of the sculpture was Rp 1.2 billion (US$141,176), clearly contradicting a city official's statement on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, head of the City Parks Agency, Mauritz Napitupulu was quoted as saying that the project cost Rp 3.5 billion and "only the sculptor" could put a value on an "artistic object", in responding to a local non-governmental organization's estimate of Rp 1.79 billion.

In addition, the sculptor claimed that only a portion of his payment had been handed over and that he was suspicious about the project and the politics involved from the start.

"I have not even received the payment completely," Soenaryo, who is also a lecturer of the Bandung Institute of Technology's art and design school, told The Jakarta Post.

He said he was suspicious about the whole thing from the very beginning and all the political strings attached.

He added that he had expressed his disagreement with the plan to establish the statue merely on a road as it would diminish the prominence of such a national hero.

But after several discussions with officials from the city administration, Soenaryo said that he finally accepted the appointment.

On Wednesday, Mauritz admitted some procedural irregularities occurred in the construction of the 6.5-meter-high statue, particularly with the tender process.

Mauritz claimed that Governor Sutiyoso decided to appoint PT Patria Mega Komunika, owned by Soedirman's grandson, Nurhadi, as the contractor.

But, he said that he did not constitute corruption, and insisted that the statue cost exactly Rp 3.5 billion.

The issue came to light earlier in the week when a non- governmental organization, the Jakarta Development Watch, reported to the city police the alleged fuzzy accounting.

Based on the organization's calculation, the entire project have only cost Rp 1.79 billion.

They also pointed out that the appointment of the developer violated presidential decree No. 17/2000 on the procurement of government projects.

Soedirman was an independence hero who served as chief of the Indonesian Military from 1945.