Abdul Khalik, Sanur, Bali – Political interference, rampant brokerage and kickbacks have caused the price of weapons and other military equipment to skyrocket, officials and experts concluded here Friday.
House of Representatives lawmaker Djoko Susilo told an anti-corruption seminar that procurement within the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the Defense Ministry had not yet been properly scrutinized, creating many opportunities for corruption, irregularities and inefficiency.
"Within the first two years of my tenure, several major cases of corruption, irregularities and mismanagement took place. If we can conduct a thorough scrutiny, we will find more. Yet only a few cases have been prosecuted, and with unsatisfactory results," he said.
The seminar, held by several civil society organizations, precedes the UN Convention Against Corruption conference in Nusa Dua, Bali, which begins Monday.
Another speaker at the seminar, director for procurement at the Defense Ministry Commodore Mukhtar E. Lubis, said while his office was trying to implement a clean and transparent process of procurement, inefficiencies remained due to political considerations and external pressure from many parties, including officials and businesspeople.
"Procurement attracts high-profiles figures and companies as it involves a large amount of taxpayers' money," he said.
Djoko said despite the country's limited budget for arms procurement, many cases indicated that the officials were yet to spend the money on much-needed equipment.
Besides the high-profile graft allegations in the purchase of four Mi-17 helicopters from Russia, believed to have caused US$3.2 million in state losses last year, Djoko pointed out other cases, including the purchase of four Israeli-made unmanned planes through a Filipino company named Kital and the purchase of an Mi-2 from Russia through an unrecognized company that possibly caused another $600,000 in state losses.
"Why should we buy Israeli planes through the Philippines? In the case of the Mi-2, the contract stated that we will purchase 12 brand new Mi-2s worth $11.9 million, and it turned out that we got two second-hand planes for $1.6 million, and the broker has run away," he said.
Djoko said other high-cost practices included the Navy's recent decision to buy bullets from Spain at $1,000 per piece, although a similar type of bullet from Serbia only costs $600 per piece.
He said persistent scrutiny and transparency could save around 30 to 40 percent of credit exports, valued at Rp 6 trillion.
Although the Defense Ministry obtained Rp 36.4 trillion from state budget, it continues to rely on credit export facilities from other countries to cover its equipment needs.
Political influence, Djoko and Lubis agreed, could be seen in the delay in purchasing of Skytruck planes, badly needed by the Navy after it grounded eight of its 30-year-old 22 Nomad surveillance aircraft for safety reasons. A crash involving a Nomad P-833 plane in Aceh last December killed three passengers.
"We don't understand why the Finance Ministry did not approve the purchase while the House, the Defense Ministry and the Navy have approved it. We need those planes. I am afraid that the delay could cost us more," Djoko said.
International relations expert at the University of Indonesia Makmur Keliat warned the government against relying on credit export facilities offered by other countries as it could cost Indonesia more due to the higher interest rates.
Larry Markinson of the US-based Center for Public Integrity said the public should continue to scrutinize and demand transparency in government spending to avoid irregularities and misuses.