Sutiyoso pursuing ex-officials' cars

JAKARTA (JP): The city administration will shortly issue an official letter requiring retired officials to return illegally retained city-owned vehicles, Governor Sutiyoso said on Thursday.

Sutiyoso said the letter was necessary if his subordinates experienced difficulties reclaiming all vehicles from retired officials.

"I hope the former officials will voluntarily hand over the cars to the administration before they are forced to."

He said the administration had adopted a policy forbidding former officials from retaining city-owned vehicles, even though an existing regulation allowed them to purchase used vehicles.

A request by former South Jakarta mayor Pardjoko to retain his official car was denied, said Sutiyoso.

"(The policy) is only temporary because our purchasing ability is low," he said, without providing further details.

Former officials in North and South Jakarta mayoralties are in possession of over 45 city vehicles. Data from the other mayoralties has not been released.

Head of the city supplies office Dadang Ruskandar said on Thursday that only seven vehicles had not been returned to his office -- two each from North Jakarta, East Jakarta and Central Jakarta and one from South Jakarta.

In West Jakarta, all illegally retained vehicles in the possession of ex-officials had been returned.

"I hope that the issuance of a letter to reclaim the vehicles will be unnecessary. So far our approach has been successful," Dadang said.

Based on a 1998 governor's circular on government vehicles, retired officials could purchase the cars as long as the vehicles had been used for official functions for a period of at least eight consecutive years and there was no shortage of cars in their former work unit.

City administration policy was to reclaim vehicles from all mayoralties before the end of 1998/1999 fiscal year on March 31. The vehicles return was necessary for the administration to make an accurate appraisal of its assets before formulating the new budget.

The office had refused several requests by former officials to keep the vehicles, Dadang said.

Retired officials, in the past, were able to take cars home. "Our (economic) condition is now far different from before, but former officials still think that the practice is applicable.

"That is one of our difficulties in reclaiming the vehicles." (ind)