Nani Afrida, Jakarta – The presidential advisory council has warned the President to be more careful in disbursing social funding to the provinces as the money has allegedly been used to finance political purposes.
Ryaas Rasyid, a member of the council, told reporters that the funds were used for political interests, especially for direct elections in the provinces.
"This is not a secret anymore, and the government plans to consolidate the funds so they will go to the right people," Ryaas said after a closed-door meeting at the State Palace on Wednesday.
The advisory council met with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his ministers to provide input on the projects run by the government. The council focused on several issues hampering the government.
"The President has shown his concern for this issue, saying the aid was not focused and needed to be channeled to people in need," he said.
Ryaas said an enormous amount of social funding had been allocated to improve people's welfare. The funds were meant to help shrink the huge economic gap between eastern and western Indonesia.
Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fawzi said each province received up to Rp 500 billion (US$56.5 million) in social funds. He declined to comment on how much of those funds had been used for political purposes, saying The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) would check it annually and bring any violators to court.
"It should be logged. One example is a poster for a promotional activity in the province that was paid for with state money. The problem is that the poster was dominated by photos [of politicians]," Gamawan said.
The Home Ministry has drafted a regulation on social funds to ensure that the money makes it to the right people. "I will give the regulation to the President soon," he said.
Julian Aldrin Pasha, the President's spokesperson, declined to comment further on social funds, saying Indonesia had a special auditing council.
"We hear the findings and we have council audits. If [the allegations] are true, we will process the case based on the law," he said, adding that there would be zero tolerance of such violations.
In April, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) released a report on local governments' social assistance fund policies. The agency said that auditors discovered 10 potential fund disbursement loopholes that might lead to graft.
The amount of social assistance funds being disbursed was far greater than what was disbursed during the pre-decentralization period.
Besides providing the President with input, the council revealed that the President also planned to make a public address about his policy sometime before Oct. 20. "It is a normal procedure when the President wants to say something to the public," Julian said.
"The President is concerned about several economic issues. For example, the huge gap between western Indonesia and eastern Indonesia, bureaucracy reform and cooperation between the House and the government," he said.