TNI may allow companies to be audited
TNI may allow companies to be audited
Deutsche Press-Agentur, Jakarta
The Indonesian Military (TNI) may allow its various business operations to be audited to pave the way for greater transparency, the TNI commander said on Wednesday.
Days after Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri said the military should not be involved in off-budget businesses, TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto told reporters he was trying to persuade his colleagues to allow the military companies to be audited.
"I have been trying to convince those dealing with the companies to let the latter be audited," Sutarto told the state- run Antara news agency.
He said the audits would pave the way for greater transparency and allow others to know that the TNI's foundations have been conducting business lawfully.
"It would be better if the country can replace them so that we ill no longer deal with business," Sutarto said.
His remarks were made days after President Megawati used her speech marking the 57th Armed Forces Day last Saturday to criticize the Indonesian military's traditional involvement in non-security related business activities.
"We should not allow the old practice where Indonesian armed forces and the national police have been forced to look for their own budget to fund their routine tasks," Megawati said in speech last Saturday commemorating the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) 57th year as one of the country's most vital institutions.
The TNI, born in 1945 as an essentially guerrilla force opposed to Dutch colonialists, has a long tradition of "living off the land".
The practice of military involvement in economic activities was institutionalized under former president Soeharto (1966- 1998), who allowed the TNI to set up "foundations" dedicated to raising funds to help supplement soldiers' welfare, while also turning a blind eye to regional commanders involvement in businesses.
Military analysts estimate that the government's budgetary allocation to the TNI, amounting to 9.3 trillion rupiah (US$1 billion) this year, accounts for only 30 to 35 percent of their actual expenditures.
The remaining 70 to 65 percent is raised by "off budget" businesses, including the foundations and other less legal operations.
Megawati, who is as head of state also Supreme Commander, noted that the government should in theory meet the TNI's budgetary needs out of state coffers, but given the country's economic difficulties, she admitted that would be impossible. It has been suggested that the TNI's business foundations could be put under a holding company, to be managed and audited by the government, which could then return some 75 percent of the profits back to the TNI for soldiers' welfare.