TNI asked to explain budget irregularities
Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A legislator hinted on Tuesday that the Indonesian Military (TNI) might not get House support for a rise in the defense budget if it failed to explain irregularities in the use of state funds.
"We will ask for clarification from TNI Headquarters over the report (of irregularities). We demand to know whether the irregularities were due to corruption or markups, or were the result of technical problems," legislator Amris Hassan of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) told The Jakarta Post.
Amris was commenting on a report released by the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), which showed irregularities in the use of state budget funds in various government offices, institutions and state enterprises, including the Ministry of Defense. The report, submitted to the House of Representatives on Tuesday, revealed 758 cases of irregularities involving Rp 6.421 trillion (US$710 million) between January and June of this year, or 17 percent of the total value of the expenditure that was audited.
The BPK report showed irregularities in the use of Rp 4.2 billion of foreign borrowings intended for providing export credit facilities in the Ministry of Defense, the Indonesian Military and the National Police.
The Air Force topped the list, with irregularities amounting to 100 percent of its total Rp 745 million budget allocation.
The Army, perceived as the most corrupt of the services, was found to have misused Rp 250 million, or 18.3 percent, of its budget.
Irregularities of between 3 percent and 10 percent are widely regarded as being acceptable, although the BPK sets the limit at 3.8 percent.
"The BPK officials also said around 50 of the 213 transactions made in the 2001-2002 period must be canceled as there were no loan agreements between the military and the creditor countries," Amris said.
Amris, deputy chairman of House Commission I on political, security and foreign affairs, expressed disappointment following the report, especially as his commission had supported the TNI's proposal for a rise in the defense budget.
"Should the TNI fail to explain the irregularities, I don't think we (Commission I) will support their proposal (for an increase)," Amris told the Post after attending a closed-door meeting between Commission I members and BPK officials at the BPK's offices on Tuesday.
The meeting was held to discuss a proposal from the Ministry of Defense to raise its budget from Rp 16.162 trillion (US$18 million) last year to Rp 19.487 trillion in 2003.
"The BPK report shows that the irregularities were caused by various problems, including lengthy procedures in entering into transactions with foreign countries. This resulted in military weaponry being obsolete by the time it arrived here," Amris said.
The lack of field preparation as well as poor human resources were also blamed for inefficiency in TNI spending. BPK officials also complained of the military's poor data collection and reporting system, and an overall lack of transparency, Amris said.
He admitted that the members of Commission I, who also sit on the House Budget Committee, had failed to monitor and control the use of the defense budget in the defense ministry and TNI.
"We can only argue for a rise (in the budget) but cannot control the use of funds," said Amris.
To improve the monitoring of military spending, the commission planned to set up a small group to intensify dialogue with the TNI and follow up on the BPK report. The team would also decide whether or not to impose sanctions in respect of funds misuse or price markups.
Meanwhile, Air Force spokesman First Air Marshall Edy Harjoko denied allegations of irregularities in his organization.
"But we will follow up on the report," Eddy told the Post Tuesday.