Semen Padang accused of bribing West Sumatra legislators

Kasparman, The Jakarta Post, Padang

Moh. Zen Gomo, a member of West Sumatra's provincial legislature, went on strike earlier this week to protest what he claims to be collusion between the legislative body, the provincial administration and state-owned cement company PT Semen Padang in lying to the public and misusing public funds.

Gomo, also a legislator of the local chapter of the National Mandate Party (PAN), decided to stop working temporarily after a letter he issued last Wednesday to the legislature requesting clarification of a questionable receipt of funds, including Rp 270 million from Semen Padang, did not receive any response.

"I am ashamed of working at this assembly after learning how its members have acted blatantly against what they had promised to the public during their election campaign," Gomo told The Jakarta Post here on Thursday.

He said he would continue his strike until the newly endorsed 2002 budget was revised and the legislative council halted their corrupt and collusive practices.

The legislator said in his letter that he felt disgusted by the greed of the 54 legislators who accepted Rp 634.5 million from the governor and Rp 270 million in cash from Semen Padang in addition to appropriations already allocated for them in the provincial administration's budget.

It is worth recalling that the West Sumatra legislature approved last October the control of Semen Padang by the "local people" and provincial administration and decided to support the demand by Semen Padang's management to spin off the company from its holding, state-owned Semen Gresik cement company.

Informed sources said the Rp 270 million from Semen Padang to the legislators could be related to the legislature's support of the management's campaign to retain the company as a cash cow for themselves, local officials and politicians.

The board of directors of Semen Gresik, which owns 99.99 percent of Semen Padang, has asked for its subsidiary to convene an extraordinary shareholders meeting to replace its management but both the boards of directors and commissioners of Semen Padang have refused to fulfill Semen Gresik's request.

"The provincial legislature already has its own budget, as allocated in the provincial administration's budget, so why do the legislators still accept additional money from the executive branch and from Semen Padang," said Gomo, who claims to be the only legislator who refused the money.

"This greedy attitude shows that the legislators, who claim to represent the people's interests, do not have any sense of crisis. Don't they know that 34 percent of the people in West Sumatra are still classified as very poor and that the unemployment rate is very high?," he retorted in his letter.

Gomo also addressed copies of his letter to PAN Chairman Amien Rais, the Minister of Home Affairs and the Governor of West Sumatra.

He lambasted what he considered wasteful spending by the assembly in its daily operations.

Gomo submitted detailed calculations of how the assembly would be able to save Rp 2.5 billion this year through efficiency and austerity.

Apris Yaman, chairman of the local chapter of PAN, said his faction was behind Gomo's move and that the provincial legislative council should respond.

"So far, the provincial legislature has remained silent and done nothing to repair its accountability," he said.

Arwan Kasri, chairman of the provincial legislature, regretted Gomo's move, which was done without any consultation with his faction.

"PAN faction should not support the province's budget if it is considered to be contradictory to regional autonomy," he said.