W. Java legislators want new cars

BANDUNG (JP): In a bid to be equal to the executive, the members of the West Java provincial legislative council want their official cars to be replaced with new and better ones.

Speaker of the West Java legislative council Eka Santosa confirmed the legislature's request, telling reporters on Monday that his Nissan Terrano sports utility vehicle (SUV) was inappropriate.

"I want a car with a capacity of 3,000cc, which can be driven in hilly areas. We need such cars for visiting areas in the southern part of the province. This SUV is also inappropriate for going around the city," he said.

There are two types of Nissan Terrano SUV. The cheapest costs Rp 191.5 million and the superior model costs Rp 250 million.

The legislature's proposal for new cars was firstly revealed during a closed meeting between Commission A and the Budgetary Commission of the legislature last Thursday.

At the meeting, Eka said he wanted a Land Cruiser SUV (costing Rp 480 million), while Grand Cherokee SUVs were proposed for the three deputy speakers. A Grand Cherokee van costs Rp 670 million.

Meanwhile, the 13 faction chairmen and six commission chairmen wanted their (new edition) Toyota Kijang SUVs to be replaced with Opel Blazer SUVs (costing between Rp 213 million and Rp 242 million).

A Toyota Kijang van costs between Rp 95.6 million and Rp 163.5 million.

For the project, a total of Rp 13 billion will be allocated from the province's 2001 budget, Iwan, a member of Commission A, said.

"Governor R. Nuriana has agreed to the proposal."

According to Iwan, Nuriana also asked for a new Toyota Land Cruiser for official purposes.

The governor now has eight (official) cars, and, the 2000 provincial budget, which was effective for nine months, allocated a total of Rp 300 million for the maintenance and operating costs of the governor's cars.

Eka called on the people not to consider the legislature's proposal as a strange request. "A legislative council in general receives less facilities than the executive," Eka said, citing that the official residence for the provincial secretary was located in an elite housing complex on Jl. Ara Jipang, while deputy speakers of the legislative council lived in a common housing complex on the outskirt of the city. (25/sur)