Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The City Council's decision to establish several special committees could encourage corruption and collusion, activists warned on Saturday.
Lawyer Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto described the special committee as an "evil conspiracy" that would benefit certain councillors, officials and businessmen related to the cases investigated by the council.
"It's an evil conspiracy. Corruption and collusion often occur in such committees," said Tubagus, who heads the city affairs and urban society division of the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH).
Worst yet, he said, the police and the prosecutor's office which then investigated the alleged corruption cases recommended for investigation by the committee were also often involved in collusion and took advantage from the cases.
The Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) chairman, Azas Tigor Nainggolan, concurred, saying that the special committees were often used by certain councillors to extort money from the city officials or businessmen involved.
"If the councillors found irregularities in certain cases, it would be an opportunity for them to extort money from officials or businessmen," he asserted. Both activists were responding to the recent testimony by councillor Ugiek Soegihardjo, a member of the council's committee investigating irregularities in city-joint venture firm PT Jakarta International Trade Fair (JITF).
Ugiek, of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, the largest faction in the council, admitted on Thursday that he received a Rp 20 million (US$2,144) bribe from the company. PT JITF president director, Edward Soerjadjaja, reported Ugiek to the Jakarta Police on Friday for defamation.
Data from the council shows that 15 special committees have been established to investigate various cases since 2000. Each member of the special committee, comprising between 15 and 26 councillors, officially receives Rp 2.6 million. Last year's city budget allocated Rp 3.4 billion for special committees and the number slightly increased this year to Rp 4 billion.
Despite the sizable amount of money, only a few of the special committees recommend further investigation on the corruption cases, such as the PT JITF case and the land acquisition case at the former brothel in Kramat Tunggak, North Jakarta. Most committees prefer to reach an amicable settlement.
Another special committee has been investigating two land exchange deals involving the city administration, private firm PT Indovika Housing and state oil and gas company Pertamina in November 2000.
Yet another special committee has been investigating the development of a city-owned hospital in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, and a building at Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center in Cikini, Central Jakarta.