Sutiyoso asked to take Jakarta KPU to antigraft body
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The City Council is urging Governor Sutiyoso to report alleged corruption at the Jakarta Elections Commission (KPUD) to the Corruption Eradication Commission and the prosecutor's office for further investigation.
"The governor is advised to recommend further investigation by the relevant agencies, including the Corruption Eradication Commission and state prosecutors," said the draft of a letter the council plans to send to Sutiyoso.
Council Speaker Ade Surapriatna said late last week his office had sent a letter to Sutiyoso in connection with the alleged corruption on May 11.
A reliable source at the council said a second letter was sent because the governor had not taken any concrete steps to follow up on alleged irregularities amounting to Rp 168.6 billion (US$17.5 million) in the KPUD's 2004 budget.
The council's Commission A, which investigated the alleged misuse of funds by KPUD members during the 2004 elections, said earlier it had found alleged irregularities resulting in state losses of about Rp 13 billion.
Commission A alleged the KPUD had failed to pay Rp 4.2 billion in income and value-added taxes. It also discovered questionable tenders and the alleged markup in the purchase of 180,000 vests for Rp 12 billion (or Rp 66,000 each).
That price was far higher than the market price of Rp 25,000 per vest, the commission said.
The KPUD has also been accused of marking up the rental fees on the three houses it uses for offices in Kepulauan Seribu regency.
According to a report from the KPUD, the rent on the three houses totaled Rp 170 million a year. However, it is believed the commission only paid Rp 25 million a year to the owners of the houses.
Governor Sutiyoso promised to follow up on the council's findings and report them to the relevant agencies, but so far has taken no action.
In the draft letter, council members demand Sutiyoso seek the dismissal of KPUD chairman Muhammad Taufik and other KPUD members suspected of involvement in corruption.
"The governor must recommend to the Jakarta Election Commission the removal of the KPUD chairman and other members," the draft says.
However, a deputy speaker of the council, Achmad Heriyawan, said he was unaware of any plans to send a second letter to Sutiyoso. He also said he had not signed any draft letter.
Achmad added he was unaware the council had sent the first letter to Sutiyoso in connection with alleged corruption at the KPUD.
"I did not sign any letter to Governor Sutiyoso in connection with Commission A's findings," he told the Post on Tuesday.
According to Heriyawan, any letter to be sent to an outsider, particularly one linked to public issues like corruption, must be discussed in a leadership meeting attended by the speaker of the council and his three deputies, as well as the chairs of the seven factions in the council.