Thousands protest huge fund used for council inauguration
Thousands protest huge fund used for council inauguration
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post/Medan
Thousands of people staged a noisy rally here on Tuesday as the
new North Sumatra legislative council was inaugurated, with two
of its 85 members missing the swearing-in ceremony due to legal
problems.
The protesters, from various organizations grouped under the
Anticorruption Civil Society (Masak), opposed the alleged
corruption of funds used for the inauguration of the councillors,
who were elected in the April 5 legislative election.
The rally became frenzied as protesters briefly detained
several councillors and pressured them to sign a political
contract, under which they committed to refrain from corrupt
practices.
However, hundreds of police officers who were guarding the
ceremony dispersed the demonstrators.
Masak coordinator Iswansyah lashed out at the police for the
way in which they had disbanded the protesters.
He said the protesters had asked the new councillors to sign
the contract as there had been indications of alleged corruption
in the use of funds from North Sumatra's budget for the
inauguration ceremony.
Iswansyah, quoting information from the council's secretariat,
said at least Rp 150 million (US$16,660) from this year's budget
had been spent on the event.
However, data from the committee shows that the ceremony cost
a total of Rp 179,631,300, he said, adding that the money did not
include the funds allotted to procure uniforms for the 83
councillors, which cost Rp 7 million each.
"How will they (the newly sworn in councillors) be able to
struggle for public interests, when, from the beginning, they are
not clean?" Iswansyah asked.
"This action is to warn the council against easily embezzling
people's funds," he told The Jakarta Post during the protest
outside the council building on Jl. Imam Bonjol, here.
Council secretary Nurdin Lubis admitted that some Rp 22.5
million of the 150 million had been used to procure uniforms for
the chairperson and secretary of the ceremony committee and nine
other senior committee members.
The procurement of 129 national black caps for the councillors
and committee members cost Rp 16,125,000 and the purchase of 129
pairs of black shoes of the Bucheri brand cost more than Rp
77,400,000, he added.
Nurdin declined to specify the funds allocated to provide
uniforms for the 83 new councillors. But a council member said
that it would cost up to Rp 7 million per person.
The 83 councillors for the 2004-2009 period were sworn in by
the head of the North Sumatra high prosecutor's office. The
inauguration of the other two elected members was postponed
indefinitely.
The two -- Azwir Sofyan of the National Mandate Party (PAN)
and Maria Sitompul of the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) -- are
facing legal problems for allegedly providing fake school
diplomas.
They were excluded from the decree issued recently by Minister
of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno to install the new council of North
Sumatra.