Tangerang councilors land Rp 450m 'farewell token'

Tangerang councilors land Rp 450m 'farewell token'

TANGERANG (JP): The Tangerang Regency office has provided a
"farewell token" of Rp 10 million (US$1,500) cash to each of the
45 regency councilors.

The gifts amounting to Rp 450 million, taken from the
regency's current 1999/2000 fiscal year budget, were handed over
personally by Regent Agus Djunara on Tuesday night in a farewell
evening party in the vast Lippo Karawaci housing and business
complex.

In his speech Agus said that the councilors, who sat at their
posts for only two years instead of the scheduled five, had given
"additional value" for the development of the area, particularly
their efforts to produce a number of local regulations.

"The thank you money, which is only Rp 10 million per person,
is nothing compared to what you've done for this regency," Agus
said.

The amount was indeed much lower than what the councilors
earlier requested. All 45 members of the Tangerang Regency
Legislative Council had agreed to ask for Rp 50 million per
person from Agus' office.

After a period of bargaining, the figure of Rp 10 million per
councilor was settled on.

"The financial condition of the regency leads us to in no way
be able to give bigger amounts of cash," the regent said.

In response, council speaker Muchson said he and his
colleagues accepted the payment.

Councilor Ebi Djauhari, leader of the Golkar Party faction,
commented: "The money can really help, at least for those who
would not be reelected to the posts."

According to Muchson, all councilors, including those who will
not be reelected, accept the fact and can see they are not alone
in having to quit their positions after only two years.

Tragedy

"It's a national tragedy since all councilors across the
country also face the same thing," he said.

Like other places throughout Indonesia, the Tangerang Regency
Legislative Council will soon be filled with new faces as a
result of the recent general election.

However, instead of completing remaining tasks and preparing
to hand over responsibility to their elected successors, many
councilors are busy haggling over so-called uang pesangon
(separation payments) from their administration offices.

Councilors in Jakarta, for example, had proposed payments of
Rp 50 million each to Governor Sutiyoso's administration.

Last week, the governor said his office had already met the
councilors' requests.

But until Wednesday, many of the councilors claimed that they
had not received the money.

"I'm still waiting for the 'good news'," councilor Amarullah
Asbah, who is also head of Jakarta's Council Commission C for
financial affairs, said.

In Bogor, the "farewell token", locally known as kadeudeuh,
has become a hot issue across town.

Earlier, all of the 45 local councilors reportedly asked for
Rp 20 million each from the administration office of Mayor Iswara
Natanegara.

But several councilors and officials now oppose the request.
They instead suggested that the mayoralty use the money to help
needy residents, such as the starving babies of poor families in
outlying villages.

"Councilors are not factory workers, who must receive a form
of separation pay when they quit," head of the mayoralty's
social-political affairs office E. Rukanda said on Tuesday.
(41/ida/bsr)