Officials to be punished for using state facility in campaign

Dicky Christanto ,  The Jakarta Post ,  JAKARTA   |  Wed, 03/04/2009 3:56 PM  |  National

Legislators have urged the government to hand down heavy punishment to officials who used state facilities in their campaign activities for the upcoming elections.

During a hearing Monday between the House of Representatives' Commission I, overseeing defense, security and foreign affairs, and the government, legislators also urged security authorities to enforce the regulations without discrimination.

The government's team at the hearing was led by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo A.S., and included Attorney General Hendarman Supandji, National Police chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri and representatives from the Foreign Ministry and justice ministry.

Commission I chairman Theo L. Sambuaga said the government should not hesitate in severely disciplining officials who used state assets to campaign.

"We ask that both the Attorney General's Office and the National Police take necessary measures, without discrimination, against those who violate the election rules," he said.

The hearing was aimed at reviewing the government's readiness in preparing for and securing the general elections.

Theo pointed out the nation would see thousands of officials and legislators running for House seats and the presidency.

Widodo agreed the government needed to take a firm stance, saying he had ordered law enforcers to pay serious attention to such cases from the very beginning.

"We are all responsible for ensuring a smooth election process, which requires upholding the laws and regulations. Thus there is no reason for us not to uphold the law," he said.

National Police chief Bambang said his office had prepared 371,614 officers to safeguard around 523,000 polling booths throughout the country and 873 booths abroad.

"To date, we haven't received an exact figure for the number of booths, because the General Elections Commission *KPU* is still carrying out extra calculations. *The KPU* plans to release the final figures on March 4," he said.

The four-star general added the police would not stand alone, and would be backed by the military and regional public order agencies in safeguarding the elections.

He said as many as 24,260 soldiers and 1,223,272 public order officials would assist the police during the elections.

"The soldiers will monitor the elections by performing undercover duties," he added.

Legislator Djoko Susilo of the National Mandate Party (PAN) said the government must be very serious in preparing security measures for the upcoming elections, to prevent a "chaotic condition" that could lead to the elections being jeopardized.

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