Bagus BT Saragih and Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – The recent turmoil in President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's coalition over plans to raise fuel prices may represent leverage for politicians to extract greater concessions.
The Golkar Party, the second-largest coalition member after Yudhoyono's Democratic Party, allegedly profited from the last-minute drama at the House of Representatives on Saturday when they finally supported an article to revise the state budget, conditionally allowing the government to raise fuel prices.
The support, which was urgently needed by Yudhoyono, was given less than 48 hours after Golkar executives held a press conference to oppose any fuel-price increase plan.
Suspicion is now rife over what concessions Golkar received for the support, particularly when the revised state budget law contained an additional clause that granted more money and authority for the government-sanctioned Sidoarjo Mud Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPLS).
The BPLS, formed in 2007, is tasked with easing the impact of the mid-2006 mudflow disaster allegedly caused by oil exploration by PT Lapindo Brantas, a company controlled by the family of Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie.
The so-called Lapindo mudflow, centering on Sidoarjo, East Java, continues, with no end in sight. The mud has inundated more than five villages and displaced more than 30,000 people. As the Bakrie family had difficulties in paying compensation to the mudflow victims, the government decided in 2007 to chip in using taxpayers' money.
Since its inception, the BPLS has spent more than Rp 3 trillion (US$333 million) on compensation and infrastructure, an amount comparable to building around 6,000 modest elementary schools in eastern Indonesia.
The controversial article in the revised state budget law that has possibly benefited Aburizal is Article 18 on the allocation of funds by the BPLS.
Under the previous state budget, the agency would have been authorized only to cover living costs, rent, evacuation and settlements for areas outside the declared impacted areas. But under the revised law, the agency receives a legal boost to be able to buy land and buildings owned by residents of areas located outside the impacted areas.
The revised law also provides authority for the President to declare villages or subdistricts located outside the impacted areas eligible for compensation and payment for their land and buildings.
With this revision, the funding allocated to the BPLS increases to Rp 1.6 trillion from the Rp 1.3 trillion initially allocated for this year. "We have been given the authority to expand the use of state funds," said BPLS secretary Adi Sarwoko on Tuesday.
Golkar politician Bambang Soesatyo, who is also a member of the House budget committee that revised the state budget law, insisted that the article was an initiative from the government.
"The article [on BPLS] is not our payment for supporting the fuel-price increase," said Bambang. "The additional allocation for handling the mudflow was entirely the government's proposal, and it was already there from the beginning of the deliberation of the state budget revision," he said.
Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, also chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), refused to comment on the issue.
Executive for the Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) Uchok Sky Khadafi felt it would be very naive to believe that there was no link between the BPLS article and the Golkar support. "Golkar has enjoyed 'political compensation' in the form of a lessening of the burden triggered by the Lapindo mudflow," he alleged.
Political observer Ray Rangkuti, director of the Indonesian Civilized Circle (LIMA), said such political transactions were nothing new in Indonesian politics. "It's just obvious for our politicians to want something in return for supporting a policy. The stakes will be higher if the support is for an unpopular policy," he said.
Article 18 of the revised state budget law
For assisting efforts to contain the Sidoarjo mudflow disaster, the financial allocation for the government-sanctioned Sidoarjo Mud Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPLS) for the 2012 budget can be used for:
A. Paying off the purchase of land and buildings in areas outside the map of the impacted areas in three villages: Besuki, Kedungcangkring and Pejarakan.
B. Assistance for rent, living costs, evacuation costs and settlements for the purchase of land and buildings in nine neighborhoods in three subdistricts: Siring, Jatirejo and Mindi.
C. Assistance for rent, living costs, evacuation costs and paying for the purchase of land and buildings outside the impacted areas is further stipulated by a Presidential Regulation (perpres). Article 18 in the previous state budget law
For assisting efforts to contain the Sidoarjo mudflow disaster, the financial allocation for the government-sanctioned Sidoarjo Mud Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPLS) for the 2012 budget can be used for:
A. Assistance for rent, living costs, evacuation costs and settlements for the purchase of land and buildings outside the impacted areas that includes Besuki, Kedungcangkring and Pejarakan villages and nine neighborhoods in three subdistricts: Siring, Jatirejo and Mindi.
B. Social assistance for areas outside the impacted areas is further stipulated in the Presidential Regulation (perpres), and should be based on a study.