[Kabar-indonesia] 4 Tempo Aceh Today Reports: BRR Book Scandal; Kuntoro Interview; News Briefs

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

4 Tempo Magazine Aceh Today Reports:

- Emergency Price, Terrible Price 
  [Several BRR staff members have 
  been questioned by the Prosecutor's 
  Office over irregularities in the publication 
  of a series of books.]

- Interview/BRR Chairman Kuntoro 
  Mangkusubroto: I must clean up the 
  black spot 

- Agenda: Incl: IT Malaysia Training 
  Aceh NGO Workers; Aspiring Regents 
  Take Qur'an Test; WFP Survey Highlights 
  Woes of Aceh Schoolchildren; and Profile 
  Of The Week: American Refugee Committee 

- The 'Last Treasure' 

Tempo Magazine
No. 02/VII
Sept 12-18, 2006 

Aceh Today 

Emergency Price, Terrible Price 

Several BRR staff members have been questioned by the Prosecutor's 
Office over irregularities in the publication of a series of books. 

THE letter should never have left the office of the head of the Aceh-Nias 
Rehabilitation & Reconstruction Agency (BRR). Its contents were sensitive: a 
refusal by the deputy head of the agency in Jakarta, Anwar Muhammad, to sign a 
book printing contract. Sent in mid-July, the letter was directed to 
Achyarmansyah Lubis, the acting trustee for the BRR's budgetary body. 

In the two-page letter Anwar included the reasons for his rejection: the 
price for three BRR book titles was too high. A print run of 600 copies of the 
book Building a Land of Hope, for example, cost Rp627,000 per book. Whereas when 
Anwar compared this with a quote from a different printer, he found that the 
price was no more than Rp250,000 per book. "The price was set without our 
knowledge," he wrote, "We were only asked to sign the contract." 

No one knows how, but the letter slipped out of the BRR offices located in 
the Lueng Bata area of Banda Aceh and "fell into the hands" of a number of 
non-government organizations in Aceh. "We then carried out an investigation," said 
Aceh Anticorruption Movement (Gerak) coordinator Akhiruddin Mahyuddin. Anwar 
was shocked by the leaking of the letter. "I don't know who distributed it," 
said the lecturer from the Industrial Technology Faculty of Trisakti University 
in Jakarta, when speaking with Tempo on Thursday last week. 

On the ground, Gerak discovered some surprising evidence and began to find 
irregularities. The books, which included the titles Laying the Foundations for 
Building Hope, One Year after the Tsunami, and One Year of the BRR, were 
ordered without a tender process with the printers being appointed directly. The 
total value of the contracts awarded to nine printers was Rp3.2 billion. "The 
price was also way above normal," said Akhiruddin. 

Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) also got involved in investigating the case. 
According to ICW Aceh's monitoring assistant, Firdaus Ilyas, to print 500 
copies of Laying the Foundations for Building Hope for example, the BRR paid PT 
Wahana Multiguna Mandiri a total of Rp264 million, or Rp500,000 per copy. To 
print 600 copies of Building a Land of Hope it cost Rp376 million or around 
Rp600,000 per copy. "Far too expensive in comparison with the market price," said 
Firdaus. 

The ICW team, which compared the prices of similar books with printing 
companies in Jakarta and Yogyakarta, also found a huge difference in the prices. The 
cost of printing the book Laying the Foundations for Building Hope for 
example, was only around Rp170,000 per copy. According to ICW's calculations, there 
were irregularities amounting to around Rp1 billion in the procurement of the 
books. 

ICW also found indications of other irregularities at the BRR-the appointment 
of media consultants and the destruction of out-of-date donated medicines in 
an inventory on the procurement of office supplies. The value of the 
irregularities was estimated at around Rp20 billion. "But, in the book project the 
indications of corruption were clearly visible," said Firdaus. 

Printers who received orders from the BRR were reluctant to speak about the 
matter. When Tempo arrived at the offices of PT Wahana Multiguna on Jl. 
Pahlawan Revolusi in East Jakarta for example, staff from the company's marketing 
section refused to be interviewed. It turns out that the owner of PT Wahana is 
also the owner of PT Patriot, the printer of Building a Land of Hope. "Ask the 
BRR all about it, including the price," said one staff member. 

                                                 l l l

The BRR book case has been gaining momentum and become a "hot potato" in 
Aceh. In late June, Gerak reported their suspicions of irregularities in the 
procurement of the books to the Aceh Police. In Jakarta, ICW has taken the case to 
the Attorney General's Office (AGO) and handed over the case documents to the 
Chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency, Anwar Nasution. "We have already 
accepted the case and will leave it to be handled by the Aceh Prosecutor's Office," 
said an AGO official. 

The Aceh AGO has already summoned around five BRR staff members for 
questioning. On Wednesday two weeks ago, for example, the Prosecutor's Office 
questioned the head of the book drafting team, Widjajanto. "We only asked for 
clarification," said Mukhlis, a spokesperson from the Aceh Prosecutor's Office. "So, 
their status was not as a witness or suspect." 

BRR's former Director of Communication & Information who now holds the post 
of chief secretary of the agency, was questioned for some seven hours by the 
Prosecutor's Office. He answered 20 questions in all starting from the idea of 
publishing the books to the process of appointing a printer and determining the 
print run and price. 

According to Widjajanto, 2,050 copies of the books were printed including 
editions in Indonesian and English. Because the printing schedule was tight, the 
books were printed using digital printing technology, the total value being 
Rp1.24 billion. "One book was around Rp500,000 and there were no 
irregularities," he said. Widjajanto asserts that the budgetary expenditures were accounted 
for. "Every six months we provided a financial report." 

Three weeks prior to Widjajanto being questioned the Prosecutor's Office also 
questioned Achyarmansyah. The prosecutor bombarded him with questions 
surrounding the expenditure process and the payment system for the books. According 
to a Tempo source, Achyarmansyah also played a role in appointing the printers. 
When contacted by Tempo on Thursday last week, however, Achyarmansyah refused 
to be interviewed. "Please ask the secretary," he said. 

BRR Secretary, Teungku Kamaruzaman, admitted that a number of the agency's 
staff had been questioned by the Prosecutor's Office. "It was only a 
clarification, we cooperated in the process," he said. Kamaruzaman denied the accusation 
that there were irregularities in the book project. Nevertheless, he conceded 
that the companies were appointed to print the books without going through a 
tender. "Perhaps there was a procedural error, but at the time we were pressed 
for time," he said. 

BRR Chairman Kuntoro Mangkusubroto has also pointed to time constraints as a 
reason for the books being printed without a tender. He stated that personally 
he was not acquainted with any of the companies appointed to print the books. 
Gerak and ICW however reject the argument that there was an "emergency 
situation" as is being put forward by the BRR. According to Firdaus, the books were 
printed one year after the agency was established and the emergency situation 
had already passed. "So haste as a reason for no tender is a fabrication," he 
said. 

Firdaus and Akhiruddin also refute the statement that the high price of the 
books was due to digital printing technology. "The quotes that we obtained were 
also for digital printing," said Akhiruddin. "The quality and specifications 
were the same as the BRR books." According to Firdaus, if the case is not 
satisfactorily resolved then the BRR's image will be damaged. "What's more, from 
the start the chief [of the BRR] promised to make the body an example of a 
corruption-free agency," he said. 

-- L.R. Baskoro, Poernomo Gontha Rido 
 
------------------------------------------

Tempo Magazine 
No. 02/VII
Sept 12-18, 2006 

Aceh Today 

Kuntoro Mangkusubroto: I must clean up the black spot 

INDONESIA Corruption Watch (ICW) and the Aceh Anticorruption Movement 
(Gerak) suspect there was corruption in the procurement of books by the 
Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation & Reconstruction Agency (BRR). Kuntoro 
Mangkusubroto, its chairman, is totally shocked. "It feels like cold water being poured on 
me, but we accept it and strive to improve ourselves," he commented on the bad 
news to Tempo reporters L.R. Baskoro and Abdul Manan, who met him before a 
seminar in Jakarta last Friday. Excerpts of the interview: 

The Aceh prosecution service is investigating a possible case of corruption 
in the book project at your place... 

To be honest, I feel sad and concerned. If the charges are true, I am very 
shocked. The project has no direct relations with reconstruction, like building 
a house and so forth. We ask that the prosecution go ahead with its 
investigation. Our commitment is clear: there can be no manipulation or corruption in 
any of the sectors.

Has the anticorruption unit made its own investigation? 

When we found indications of corruption, the unit immediately went to work.

Did you take part in the process? 

No. I must manage a much bigger corridor. I cannot focus on such a small 
issue, even though it's very bothersome.

Because of this case, you met with Vice President Jusuf Kalla... 

I meet with the Vice President almost every month to report on progress in 
the reconstruction. So, I just happened to see him three days after the ICW 
announced its findings in the newspapers. I explained about the case to the Vice 
President.

What was his reaction? 

He said, "Oh, I read about it and am aware of how the case is progressing." 
He said that the matter needed attention, to prevent it from becoming a bigger 
problem. The work of the BRR is, after all, huge.

Have your read the report by Indonesia Corruption Watch? 

No. I just read it from the papers. I got a headache from it. I wanted to 
enjoy myself on a Saturday, but that news spoiled it for me.

The report put the BRR in an awkward position? 

No. That's what their function is. Although this is like a cold shower, we 
should accept it and strive to improve ourselves. We don't need to be defensive. 
We just put it to right again.

Do you know anyone in the company that printed the book? 

No. How can I be managing something like that?

You said the printing company was appointed without a tender because it was 
an emergency. What did you mean by that? 

I want to correct that. It wasn't an emergency, but in a hurry. One year of 
the BRR fell at the beginning of May. The budget planning was last April. We 
wanted to be on time to report to the President, the cabinet and the DPR (House 
of Representatives). But there was little time to print the book. Finally, we 
didn't use the printing press but digital printing. They said this was 
expensive. That's what I know.

Did you approve the process? 

No. There was a team of its own.

What will you do if the prosecution finds there's a case? 

If they find a suspect, I will dismiss that person. I don't have to wait for 
the court's verdict. This institution must maintain its integrity. I must 
maintain the international community's confidence in us. If there is a black spot, 
however small, it's still a black spot. And I must clean that up.

Other than the book project, ICW indicated there might be irregularities in 
the appointment of PT Holcim in destroying drugs in Aceh. 

In Aceh, there are about 3,000 tons of drugs with overdue expiration dates. 
There are two ways of destroying them: to bury them or to burn them. Because 
this is a quake-prone area, the first method is dangerous because if there's a 
quake, they can poison the ground. The only way is to destroy them in an 
incinerator. The cement factory with a license to do this from the Environmental 
Department is Holcim.

The appointment of Holcim was not because you are a commissioner in that 
company? 

No. I had nothing to do with the decision. 
 
-----------------------------------------

Tempo Magazine
No. 02/VII
Sept 12-18, 2006 

Aceh Today 

IT Malaysia Training Aceh NGO Workers 

ACEH Information Technology Development (AITD) in cooperation with the 
Southeast Asia Center eMedia (SEACeM) is holding a training course in the 
application of the CMS (Content Management System), in which 15 local NGO workers 
participate. This takes place in Aceh. This training is deemed essential as the 
websites of the local as well as foreign NGOs in Aceh more often than not tend 
only to carry information. To make matters worse, not much of it is up to date. 
With this training it is expected that information technology will become the 
backbone of any undertaking in Aceh and that it will help boost education in 
Aceh, which has been in a poor state since the tsunami. 

Aspiring Regents Take Qur'an Test 

THE Independent Elections Commission of Lhokseumawe, Aceh, staged a Qur'an 
reading test for six pairs of aspirants for the posts of regent and mayor of 
Lhokseumawe last Thursday, September 7. According to the Commission's head, 
Amiruddin Abdullah, each candidate was required to read the Qur'an in front of a 
jury from the Clerics Consultative Assembly and the Qur'an Reading Development 
Institute of Lhokseumawe. 

According to Amiruddin, each candidate must meet the minimum rate of 56 and 
pass the Qur'an reading test to be qualified to take part in the elections for 
the two local chiefs. Candidates who have passed the test will be issued 
certificates. 

WFP Survey Highlights Woes of Aceh Schoolchildren 

PRIMARY schoolchildren in Aceh and Nias suffer from insufficient nutrition, 
inadequate health care and poor hygiene, provoking widespread parasitic 
infections and resulting in stunted physical growth and retarded intellectual 
development. Those are the main findings of a groundbreaking study, financed by the 
United Nations World Food Program, that provides the first comprehensive 
picture of the health and nutritional status of children in the primary school 
systems of Aceh and Nias, where WFP has been operating relief and recovery programs 
to aid victims of the tsunami that struck Aceh in December, 2004, and 
subsequent earthquake that rocked Nias in March, 2005. 

The study was conducted during March and April, 2006, by the University of 
Indonesia in collaboration with the Indonesian-based SEAMEO-TROPMED Regional 
Center for Community Nutrition, an arm of the Southeast Asia Ministries of 
Education Organization. It provides WFP with the baseline data needed to maximize 
the benefits of the agency's school feeding program, which currently reaches 
some 300,000 primary schoolchildren in Aceh and Nias. In conducting the study, 
researchers surveyed a total of 1,920 children in 80 separate schools 1,440 
children in 60 schools in eight of Aceh's school districts, and another 480 
children in 20 schools in both of the two districts on the Island of Nias. 

Among the more serious problems the survey identified was the prevalence of 
stunted growth among schoolchildren: 27 percent in Aceh and 36 percent in Nias. 
Both places also registered significant numbers of underweight children: 21 
percent in Aceh, 22 percent in Nias. In Aceh, the rate of malnourishment ranged 
from a mild to a major public health problem, with moderate rates of anemia, 
(27 percent), and Vitamin-A micronutrient deficiency, (17 percent). But it is 
a major concern in Nias, where 28 percent of children are malnourished and 33 
percent micronutrient-deficient. Parasitic infections are widespread in both 
areas, with 53 percent of Aceh children afflicted by worm infestations and a 
staggering 75 percent in Nias. Malarial infections were also very high in Nias, 
(46 percent), but less so in Aceh, (12 percent). Poor personal hygiene is also 
a major concern, according to the study, which found a high incidence of 
untreated skin diseases among schoolchildren. Lack of adequate sanitation 
facilities aggravates the problem, especially in Nias, where two-thirds of the schools 
surveyed had no latrines. 

Profile Of The Week 

American Refugee Committee 

THE American Refugee Committee (ARC) is an international nonprofit, 
nonsectarian organization that has provided humanitarian assistance and training to 
millions of beneficiaries over the past 27 years. The American Refugee Committee 
was set up in 1978. ARC works with refugee communities in 10 countries around 
the world. The American Refugee Committee works with refugees, displaced 
people, and those at risk to help them survive crisis and rebuild lives of dignity, 
health, security and self-sufficiency. The vision of ARC is to set the 
highest standard for helping restore and enhance the dignity and self-sufficiency of 
refugees, displaced people and those at risk. 

ARC programs in Africa, the Balkans, and Asia provide health care, clean 
water, shelter repair, legal aid, trauma counseling, micro credit, community 
development services, and repatriation assistance to more than 1 million people, 
annually. 

Since the tsunami 2004 struck Aceh, ARC and the team has aided the people who 
need help and assistance. The ARC team partnered with other organizations to 
provide emergency medical support. With the generous support of tsunami relief 
donors, the ARC team successfully completed several emergency relief efforts. 

In Aceh the ARC team succeeded in its vaccination campaign that in total 
vaccinated over 80,000 children for measles. ARC organized mobile health clinics 
to check the physical and mental health of local survivors. Despite all the 
relief efforts, there is still much left to be done, and ARC will continue to 
work for the assistance of many people. 

----------------------------------------

Tempo Magazine 
No. 02/VII
Sept 12-18, 2006 

Aceh Today 

The 'Last Treasure' 

IN mid-July, Abdullah, 60, was still fit. Despite his age, his hands were 
strong enough to hammer nails in a shelter he had just got. With his saw and 
other carpentry tools, the fisherman worked with the help of his child. The 
shelter was built exactly on his original plot of land in Alue Naga village, Syiah 
Kuala, Banda Aceh. 

Its roof was already fixed to a steel frame. Its floor was also finished, 
leaving only its walls to be set up with imported processed wood. Such temporary 
homes were provided by NGOs for residents still without accommodation aid or 
pending the completion of permanent housing.   

Only four steps from the shelter was a hut made of tsunami-swept wood with 
patches of blue plastic sheets, beside a small chicken coop. Abdullah claimed to 
have occupied the plot four months earlier. He had watched over his land by 
putting up boundary fences and a name board, indicating that this was his 
property. 

Abdullah is an active fisherman, regularly heading out to sea to fish. It's 
only about 500 meters to the shore from his home. But he had been busy with his 
shelter for a week that month. "I lived there before," he said, pointing to a 
place in the distance. 

What he meant was the Krueng Cut River plain. It is the place where hundreds 
of other Alue Naga people lived in emergency cabins extending along hundreds 
of meters. The settlements were built by the villagers from materials washed up 
by the tsunami, after rejecting the barracks in Neuhen, Greater Aceh, located 
around 10 kilometers away. They argued that the camp was a long way from 
their fishing area. The other reason was the fear of leaving their land 
unprotected. 

Fourteen months after the tsunami, they were still there. The land in their 
village remained damaged, with its access road still partially disrupted by the 
tsunami, even turning into a waterway. A bridge on the left side of the road 
collapsed, leaving a submerged concrete structure. 

After the road was reconnected in February 2006, life began to re-emerge in 
the village. They set up tents and started marking their plots of land. They 
joined hands with each other, delineating and measuring their land, with 
directives provided by community figures when mistakes were made. "I cleared my land 
recently to build a shelter," said Azhar, a local resident. 

Not all shelters were built in original village places. According to Tuanku 
Hamzah, Keuchik (village head) of Alue Naga, of the 234 shelters allotted to 
Alue Naga, only 88 were delivered to the village and erected on the barren land. 
The rest could be found on river embankments, only shifting the emergency 
huts and tents. 

He indicated that based on provisional data, Alue Naga residents were still 
short of 161 shelters. The number would rise in the future with the return to 
the village of over 400 families recorded. "Some of them remain evacuated in 
remote areas," the chief revealed. 

No exact data on the population of post-tsunami Alue Naga were available. 
Hamzah estimated the total at around 1,200. All of them expected accelerated 
village development in order to enable their return to normal living they once 
experienced on their land, because not a single permanent home had been built 
there. 

                                                 l l l

Like Abdullah, hundreds of other villagers frequently kept an eye on their 
land. Those living near the dikes also spent time observing their property. 

Muhammad, for instance, had a look at his plot daily as the last treasure. 
The land was getting closer to the sea, only about 200 meters away. It's even 
farther, partially submerged by marsh water during high tides. "I will remain on 
this land," he maintains stoically. 

Muhammad was worried about his uncertified plot. But it was already measured 
with boundary marks pegged to the ground. He claimed that the 500-square-meter 
land had been acquired with a certificate in his own name. The tsunami washed 
away all the legal papers. 

As the certificate disappeared with the waves, he had reregistered his land 
with the village office to be further reported to the National Land Agency 
(BPN) in Aceh. It was intended to obtain a new certificate. "I'll feel relieved 
after securing the land certificate," added Muhammad. 

All the people there with their land generally swept away by the tsunami were 
waiting for their new papers, which had not appeared as yet. Pending the 
issue of the documents, they continued to take care of the land by growing trees 
and putting up name boards. 

Tuanku Hamzah affirmed that data on the land in Alue Naga had been taken. In 
March 2006, the BPN and local residents measured the plots for delineation to 
prepare new certificate distribution. He admitted that its handling was slow, 
with no indications of a tentative date issue from the BPN. Fortunately, 
though, there was no land dispute between residents here so everything had run 
smoothly. 

But land certificates remain important. Tgk Mahmudia, an imam of Alue Naga, 
said that the land property right was badly needed to determine Faraidz (land 
division to inheritors). For example, a land owner, who died in the tsunami, 
had two children surviving the disaster and they were entitled to the land. 

Naturally, the land should be equally divided by village authorities after 
initial certificates in the name of previous owners are available. "Faraidz 
cannot yet be realized, meaning that relevant heirs have to wait," explained 
Mahmudia. 

Alue Naga is an example of a village caught in limbo. There are still many 
tsunami-hit areas suffering the same fate. In this case, the BPN in Aceh carries 
on its mapping operation for the substitution of residents' land 
certificates. 

Razali Yahya, head of BPN Aceh, indicated that his agency had finished 
mapping tsunami-stricken areas in Banda Aceh and Greater Aceh. The mapping of other 
tsunami regions in Aceh is underway. "For Banda Aceh and Greater Aceh, the 
mapping has reached a maximum extent and some areas have even obtained new 
certificates," he told Tempo. 

Besides Banda Aceh and Greater Aceh, the other areas subjected to mapping are 
Aceh Jaya, West Aceh, Nagan Raya, Pidie, Bireuen and Lhokseumawe. In 
performing this laborious job, BPN Aceh personnel are assisted by the central 
government's 500 mapping officers coming from all provincial BPNs in Indonesia and 
also NGOs. 

They conduct mapping in cooperation with community figures in relevant 
villages and then the BPN verifies data on land owners or its inheritors, before 
preparing the certificates for distribution. The BPN guarantees that despite the 
destruction of land and documents after the tsunami, there will be no 
irregularities in land ownership later. 

Some of the supporting officers have joined field activities while others are 
following training in Medan, North Sumatra. In addition, the BPN is also 
helped by some NGOs and community leaders in tsunami-affected villages. 

Razali said that there was no constraint in land mapping, but the process of 
certification was facing some problems. Consequently, complaints have often 
been lodged by residents who have not yet received their documents. "The 
difficulty is due to the large number of land owners who died in the tsunami. It's 
sometimes also hard to find their heirs as they haven't reported yet to the BPN 
or village offices," he pointed out. 

He cited an example that in 2005, the certificates received by landowners 
only totaled about 7,000, while the mapping and certification process that year 
already covered 50,000 land plots in Banda Aceh and Greater Aceh. He hoped that 
village communities, land owners and inheritors would also cooperate in 
solving the matter. 

Apart from that, the new Government Regulation in lieu of Law concerning the 
right to tsunami-affected land has not been issued by the government yet. But 
it is not a major constraint and the BPN can deal with the problem. Every 
certificate distributed carries a sealed statement by the document holder that if 
false data are found in the certificate, it will be revoked for the sake of 
law. "For the mapping undertaken in 2006, no new certificates have been issued," 
he disclosed.  

He added that residents should not worry about building houses on the 
tsunami-hit land. While they have not yet obtained certificates in the ongoing 
process, NGOs and the Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation & Reconstruction Agency (BRR) have 
possessed land-mapping data compiled by the BPN Aceh. Therefore, local people 
need not wait for new certificates, meaning that without worrying about land 
affairs they can directly build their homes on their plots. 

BPN Aceh has a target of land mapping and certification that covers 600,000 
plots all over tsunami-stricken Aceh. "It's the certificate program envisaged, 
but it may not be that big," he said. 

In 2006, the BPN estimates that 150,000 land plots will have their mapping 
and certification completed. Razali promised that by the end of 2008, tsunami 
land affairs in Aceh would be settled, if the various limitations already 
described could be overcome. 

Villagers are anxious due to their lack of proper knowledge. Minimal public 
enlightenment makes local people even more worried about the ownership of their 
'last treasure' being lost to other parties. "We are wary because we have no 
idea of the legal certainty over our land," lamented Abdullah. 

It's this anxiety that sent him back to his pre-tsunami land without delay, 
reviving it from its apparent demise. Abdullah's shelter was erected without 
electricity, but it's enough to protect its owner from onshore wind, while also 
enabling him to guard the land for his heir. - Adi Warsidi 
 
------------------------------------------
Joyo Indonesia News Service
------------------------------------------