Jakarta – Clothes make the man, or the governor, in this case. Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso has proposed increasing his wardrobe allowance this year from 40 million rupiah (S$8,400) to 60 million rupiah.
And while city councillors are in hot water for making frivolous overseas trips, he has proposed an increase in the allocation for his official trips from 165 million rupiah to 445 million rupiah.
He has also asked for a higher health allowance, from 78 million rupiah to 138 million rupiah, and an increase in the allocation for the maintenance of his residence and office from 480 million rupiah to 705 million rupiah.
The proposals were made earlier last week in a review of the city Budget 2001, increasing it from 7.495 trillion rupiah to 8.1 trillion rupiah.
Mr Sutiyoso, however, claimed on Friday that the proposals had been made without his knowledge. He also said he had asked his subordinates to review them.
Expectedly, the proposals drew criticism. The head of the urban division of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, Mr Tubagus Karbyanto, questioned the use of taxpayers' money for such expenditure. "It shows that Sutiyoso and his administration have no sense of crisis. It's just wasting public money," he said on Friday.
As for the wardrobe allowance, he said Mr Sutiyoso should display the clothes that he had bought so far during his term. "Maybe he can open a clothes store after his term ends next year," he said.
The city councillors would ask for similar wardrobe allowances, he added. He pointed out that the council had earlier demanded facilities – like a sauna – on a par with city officials.
Meanwhile, the city administration expects the revenue from personal income tax and other taxes to rise by 537 billion rupiah. The allocation for routine expenditure, such as for the salaries of city employees, would shoot up from 4.9 trillion rupiah to 5.5 trillion rupiah.
The funds for informal-sector development, currently budgeted at 650 million rupiah, and the allocation for the construction of facilities for the informal sector, currently 3 billion rupiah, will be unchanged.