Ezra Sihite, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has scrapped the planned purchase of nearly $8 million worth of Mercedes sedans for the incoming cabinet of President-elect Joko Widodo, following widespread criticism from the public, including Joko himself.

Taufik Sukasah, the secretary of the State Secretariat, which announced late last month that Mercedes-Benz Indonesia had won the tender to provide new cars for the next batch of ministers, said on Wednesday that the secretariat would accede to the public's rejection of the deal.

"In accordance with the public's aspirations and the directive from state secretary [Sudi Silalahi], we decided not to continue the procurement," Taufik said. "The specification and price of ministers' vehicles will be decided by the incoming administration."

He added that the deal could easily be scrapped at this early stage because no contract had been signed yet with the carmaker, which put in a Rp 91.944 billion ($7.81 million) bid to beat out Toyota, which supplied the previous batch of limousines for cabinet members.

Joko himself has balked at news of the planned purchase, saying he had asked the State Secretariat to cancel it. "I told [Sudi] it would be better not to buy new cars. We can use the old cars," he said on Tuesday as quoted by Detik.com.

However, Sudi argued that there was nothing untoward in the whole process, and noted that the funding had long been approved by the House of Representatives.

Some observers have painted the decision to announce the tender winner publicly as an effort by the current administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to undermine the image of the incoming government, which takes office on Oct. 20. "This is a blow and a trap for Joko's administration," Sugiharto, a researcher at the Indonesia Budget Center, told Kompas.com.

He said the procurement appeared to be a political effort to weaken Joko's administration. He also called the procurement of new cars unnecessary, especially given that Joko was expected to announce a hike in subsidized fuel prices as one of his first policy moves.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/sby-administration-backs-new-cars-jokowis-cabinet/