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.