West Java corruption cases worth Rp 466b
West Java corruption cases worth Rp 466b
Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung
West Java may be the province worst hit by corruption this year,
with a local antigraft watchdog announcing that at least 111
cases worth Rp 466 billion (US$52 million) occurred between
January and June.
West Java Corruption Watch (WJCW) coordinator Harlans M.
Fachra said the data was based on reports he received from the
public and the local and national mass media.
The announcement, he said, was made to solicit public
participation in eradicating corruption in the country's most
populous province.
"We want to give a picture of how much money has been stolen.
It is high time for the public to demand and fight for their
rights," Harlans said on Monday in the provincial capital of
Bandung.
The most prominent corruption case, which caused the most
losses to the state, was the alleged embezzlement of more than Rp
200 billion in reforestation funds that was reported by the
National Corruption Monitoring Committee (Konstan) to the
Attorney General's Office earlier this year.
The scam, allegedly involved state-owned forestry company PT
Perhutani Unit III for West Java, which was tasked with
reforesting areas in the province between 1993 and 2003.
However, none of the suspects were convicted and prosecutors
say the case is still under investigation, Harlans said.
He said the recorded 111 graft cases were committed in 16
regencies and municipalities throughout West Java.
Among other cases were the alleged misappropriation of funds
from the provincial budget by administration officials and
legislative council members, and the theft of assistance funds
allocated to provide the poor with free rice.
Other graft cases included the misuse of funds allocated to
renovate elementary school buildings and alms for mosques and
marriage fees by officials at local religious affairs offices.
"Most of the cases in West Java have involved the misuse of
budgets at provincial, regental and municipal levels, amounting
to more than Rp 61.7 billion," said Harlans.
The budget misappropriations, he said, were committed
collectively by government officials and legislative council
members.
"This proves that good governance -- free of corruption,
collusion and nepotism (KKN) -- is still a long way off, as the
body controlling the provincial budget has no sense of justice,"
Harlans said.
He said the WJCW plans to visit the West Java Prosecutor's
Office on June 30 to question the sluggish investigations of
corruption cases in the province.
During the visit, the anticorruption watchdog intends to
pressure both prosecutors and courts to expedite the legal
process of the cases, to boost public confidence in the
establishment of a good and clean government.