[Kabar-indonesia] NGOs demand probe into BRR allegations

[Joyo at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post 
Saturday, September 2, 2006

NGOs demand probe into BRR allegations

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Anticorruption watchdogs are urging an exhaustive probe of possible 
irregularities in rebuilding projects at the Aceh and Nias Rehabilitation and 
Reconstruction Agency (BRR).

The Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) and the Aceh Working Group (AWG) said 
Friday the agency's alleged graft was "systemic", so the investigation must be 
thorough.

After a meeting Thursday with Vice President Jusuf Kalla in Jakarta, BRR 
chairman Kuntoro Mangkusubroto said there may have been some violations of 
official procedure in carrying out Aceh's reconstruction projects, saying they were 
due to the emergency nature of the work.

Kuntoro thanked the ICW for revealing the violations and vowed to reorganize 
the agency to prevent the problem from recurring.

An ICW report cited the agency's direct appointment of partner companies in 
carrying out five goods and services projects worth some Rp 23.8 billion 
(US$2.6 million).

The ICW and the AWG dismissed the argument that emergency reasons prompted 
the direct appointment of companies to handle such projects as public relations, 
logistics, publishing books and brochures, destroying unwanted drugs and 
designing housing development plans.

The law permits the agency to make direct appointments of firms to deal with 
certain reconstruction projects, such as rebuilding houses for survivors of 
the devastating tsunami that struck the region in 2004.

ICW coordinator Teten Masduki said the allegations are similar to those faced 
by General Elections Commission (KPU) members charged with violating 
regulations in the procurement of election materials. She said the BRR's alleged 
corruption should be brought to court, as the KPU's has.

KPU chief Nazaruddin Syamsuddin and several other officials have been sent to 
jail for graft, and some KPU members are still facing charges.

"The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has no reason to pass over the 
BRR's graft cases, and none of the officials involved have legal impunity," 
Teten said.

The government, she added, should also be held accountable.

The ICW and the AWG said the investigation is crucial to upholding justice 
and maintaining public trust for the BRR among the Acehnese people and 
international donors.

Teten said he had received a report from reliable sources in Aceh that the 
finance minister had fired T. Tyas, head of the treasurer's office in Aceh, for 
"leaking" information to the public on the disbursement of reconstruction 
funds.

AWG coordinator Rusdi Marpaung also questioned the BRR's decision to give a 
portion of the reconstruction funds to the military for security and defense.

"The BRR was established not to support the military but to rebuild Aceh, 
which was ravaged by the earthquake and tsunami," he said.

According to Rusdi, the BRR allocated 7.19 percent of its Rp 3.9 trillion 
budget in 2005 for security and defense, while the housing and women's affairs 
sectors received only 8.12 percent and 0.8 percent respectively.

Rafendy Djamin, coordinator of the Human Rights Working Group, said the 
"systemic" corruption in the BRR allegedly involved cronies of agency officials in 
Jakarta.

Prosecutors have also reportedly launched a graft probe into a BRR book 
publishing project.

"The investigation should not stop at the book project but must be extended 
to all other cases. A thorough probe into the cases is a test for Indonesia's 
credibility in the eyes of international donors," he said. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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