Abdul Khalik – Debate over the country's aging warfare equipment is dragging on, with House of Representatives lawmakers opening fire on the government for impeding arms procurement.
Djoko Susilo of House Commission I on defense, security and foreign affairs said Thursday the Finance Ministry had "sabotaged" the procurement process, resulting in a series of deadly accidents that involved aging military equipment.
"We don't understand why the finance minister often rejects new equipment purchases. If we had bought the new equipment we would not be seeing these accidents," Djoko said.
He was referring to the cancellation of a purchase of 10 Polish-made Skytruck light transport aircraft worth US$76 million through export credit last year.
The helicopters would have replaced 30-year old Nomad surveillance aircraft operated by the Navy. Last December, a Nomad P-833 plane crashed in Aceh, killing three passengers. The Navy quickly grounded eight of its Nomad squadron after the accident.
Last week a 46-year-old amphibious tank sank during a military exercise in the waters off the East Java town of Sidoarjo, leaving seven marines on board dead.
Djoko said the accident could have been avoided if the Finance Ministry had approved the purchase of 20 Russian-made amphibious tanks worth $50 million, which was proposed in 2005.
"I understand the Finance Ministry should be careful and selective in its decisions, but there is no reason for canceling or slowing arms deals when the House, the military and the Defense Ministry have agreed to include the spending in the state budget," said Djoko, a member of the National Mandate Party (PAN).
Permadi of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) joined the attack on the finance minister, who he said had "deliberately weakened" the country's military capability.
Justice and Prosperous Party (PKS) lawmaker Mutammimul 'Ula urged the government to increase the defense budget to enable the Indonesian Military (TNI) to replace its outdated equipment.
The 2008 state budget raised defense spending to Rp 36.4 trillion ($3.8 billion), but the government looks to continue to rely on credit export facilities from other countries to cover its equipment needs.
Chairman of House Commission I Theo Sambuaga agreed that the country's decaying equipment needed to be fixed.
"With the majority of the equipment is aged 20 years old or older, the military can't afford to ground them all. That's why we need to examine how many war machines remain usable and how many should be replaced," he said.
During a hearing with the House on Wednesday, Navy chief Adm. Sumardjono said that out of 143 warships, only 11 were operational. Theo said that it was time for Indonesia to commit to military industry though a joint production scheme that enabled a transfer of technology.
International and military expert at the University of Indonesia Makmur Keliat said the key issue in equipment procurement was transparency in all government agencies to avoid misunderstandings and purchasing bottlenecks.
"I think the defense minister, finance minister, TNI chief, Bappenas (National Development Planning Board), Bank Indonesia and the House must sit together to create an interdepartmental mechanism of procurement that is transparent and executable," he said.