Set up 'Telkomgate' committee

Set up 'Telkomgate' committee

From Koran Tempo

At last, the House of Representative (DPR) has teamed up with
the state-owned telecommunications company, PT Telkom, to
increase telephone rates, effective January 2002.

Actually, PT Telkom has recorded profits of almost Rp 3
trillion, which would have been even more if there had been no
leakages in PT Telkom (see news story in Koran Tempo of Nov. 28
titled DPR: Probe into leakages in Telkom and Indosat).

The news story said the DPR had asked the government to
investigate these alleged irregularities but the DPR stuck to its
approval of the hike in telephone rates. Therefore, it should be
required of the honorable people's representatives that they set
up a special committee to investigate the financial leakages in
PT Telkom and PT Indosat (the "Telkomgate" case).

Meanwhile, the DPR should revoke its approval of the telephone
rate increase and wait until the special committee has publicized
its findings. If manipulation can be proven, the officers
involved should be punished and Telkom's rates should be
maintained at their present level for five years. Only after that
can a discussion on a hike in the telephone rate be discussed
with the DPR. This is what one would call an honorable and
consistent resolution.

DEHEN BINTI
Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan