West Java councillors suspected of bribery

BANDUNG (JP): The chairman of a West Java Council special committee auditing the annual accountability report of Governor R. Nuriana has denied allegations that bribery took place in order to facilitate the approval of the report.

Committee chairman Tarmudji, when asked by journalists, vehemently denied the allegations, saying they were merely rumors.

"I don't know, it's just rumors," claimed Tarmudji, who is a councillor from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

Allegations of bribery have been rife at the council in the past few weeks, with some council members quietly urging the council to investigate the matter.

A member of the special committee, who asked not to be named, claimed on Thursday that Rp 10 million was offered to each of the 30 members of the committee to accept the accountability report.

"Some received it (the money) and some rejected," the councillor said.

The special committee's deputy chairman Rizal Fadillah admitted that he had also "heard" of the alleged bribes given under the pretext of a present, which is commonly referred to here as kadeudeuh (a token of appreciation).

Rizal insisted that he had never accepted such a "gift", but admitted that he had been made an offer both before and after the accountability report was accepted.

The committee finished its task in April, and the governor's accountability report was accepted by a majority of councillors in a plenary session in early May.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Justice Faction at the council Yudi Widiana Adia said he had also heard of the alleged bribe, and had spoken with Council Speaker Eka Santosa about it.

Yudi said Eka told him that he did not know anything about the money.

"I (also) spoke with Reza Nasrullah, a Justice Faction member who sits on the committee, not to take any money," Yudi said.

Separately, Reza maintained that he had never accepted such money, claiming that he was financially secure with the official honorarium he received as a committee member, besides his regular monthly salary.

"If there are any 'bonuses', we should ask where are they from," he remarked.

Meanwhile, lawyer from Bandung-based Padjadjaran University Indra Perwira pointed out that such money, under any guise, was clearly prohibited by law, citing Law No. 11/1980 on bribery. (25/emf)