Would-be councilors vow to wage war against KKN

Would-be councilors vow to wage war against KKN

JAKARTA (JP): Executives of political parties' Jakarta
chapters which have gained enough votes to secure seats in the
City Council vowed on Thursday to rid the city administration of
corruption, collusion and nepotism.

Contacted separately, prospective councilors of the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the United
Development Party (PPP) and the Golkar Party said the
administration should have a new spirit to face the new
Indonesia.

Jakarta secretary of PDI Perjuangan Maringan Pangaribuan said
a clean city administration should be strived for by first
appointing a governor who was free of corruption, collusion and
nepotism (KKN). PDI Perjuangan is predicted to gain 31 out of 85
seats in the council.

"I'm not saying that we will replace Governor Sutiyoso, but we
will control his leadership so that in the future he can be more
courageous to take stern action against city officials involved
in practices which are against the reform spirit, by really
punishing or replacing them," he said.

He said Sutiyoso showed goodwill when a number of city
officials were recently questioned by the Jakarta Prosecutor's
Office in connection with corruption allegations.

On Wednesday, chief prosecutor Lukman Bachmid announced that
10 high-ranking city officials were allegedly involved in
instances of corruption which caused the state billions of rupiah
in losses.

Maringan said he was optimistic that the new councilors could
do their jobs well (to control the administration) as, in the
future, the council would have more independence as stipulated in
the newly endorsed 1999 Law No. 4 on the formation and the
position of the People's Consultative Assembly, the House of
Representative and the regional councils.

A prospective PPP councilor, Chudlary Syafi'i Hadzami, said
administration employees should prepare themselves for the new
spirit of the government.

"The administration should leave behind the tendency of
covering up for corrupt officials," he said.

Chudlary said the administration should make use of the reform
team established by the governor last year to eradicate KKN in
the administration. He said several parties doubted the sincerity
of the team because it had produced no significant results.

Prospective Golkar councilor Mulyono said the party would
support a clean administration.

"In the future, the administration should be more selective in
placing city officials in strategic positions; they should be
those who are clean," he said.

In a related development, the chairman of the Jakarta
Provincial Elections Committee, Djafar Badjeber, stated that he
would ask the General Elections Commission (KPU) to let the
provincial committee count ballot papers from abroad if the
related institutions were unable to do so. Overseas ballots are
allocated to the city for the House. (ind)