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)