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Golkar accuses political opponents of hypocrisy

The Golkar Party’s alleged “pork barrel” program, which proposes that each legislator receive Rp 15 billion per year to be distributed in their electoral districts, has been opposed strongly by the general public

Ridwan Max Sijabat (The Jakarta Post)
Mon, June 14, 2010

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Golkar accuses political opponents of hypocrisy

T

em>The Golkar Party’s alleged “pork barrel” program, which proposes that each legislator receive Rp 15 billion per year to be distributed in their electoral districts, has been opposed strongly by the general public. Ade Komaruddin, secretary of the party faction at the House of Representatives gave The Jakarta Post’s Ridwan Max Sijabat an exclusive interview over the weekend and explained the proposal’s rationale.

Question: What is your comment on opposition to the proposal?

Answer: The other parties which initially supported the proposal are hypocrites.

They have left Golkar to be “beaten from all directions” and turned their backs on the proposal. They are only opposing the proposal to test the political waters. Golkar conveyed the proposal to the government after it won political support from all party factions in the budget committee and from pro-government coalition members.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Democratic Party factions have long supported the idea.

How does Golkar respond to strong opposition from the public and the government?

We regret opposition from the other side, from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the national media. They have misunderstood the proposal and the idea behind it, mainly because of a lack of information. Many media and political analysts have a false perception and think it is a pork barrel program. Many others have said that legislators will each receive Rp 15 billion to be distributed in their electoral districts. Everyone has said it is a Golkar political maneuver to win the 2014 general election. All this is completely wrong.

What has Golkar proposed?

(Distribution of funds) for even regional development, an acceleration program aimed at developing disadvantaged regions and empowering the House’s supervision and budgetary functions.

Under the program, legislators will have the prerogative to determine development priorities in their districts. Distribution of funds will be conducted by the executive, either through the central government or regional administrations.

It is a program similar to congressional earmarks in the US, Priority Development Assistance Funds in the Philippines, election pork in Norway and Sweden, election alms in Romania and pork barrel in Australia.         

Why did Golkar develop the proposal?

We raised the proposal and brought it to the government to ensure transparency in budgeting and put an end to collusion between the House and the government. It has been a long-standing practice among legislators to monitor the budget process from the regions to the House and then to the Finance Ministry to speed up development in their electoral districts and also collect fees. Many regional heads have been reluctant to launch development projects in districts that do not vote for them during local elections. This collusion must end.

The main reason behind the proposal is the widening gap between Java and islands outside Java and a serious poverty problem that affects almost 30 percent of the Indonesian population. We need a special policy that allows the House to give priority to infrastructure development to break the isolation of remote areas, especially in the country’s sparsely-populated eastern region.

Many people in our electoral districts have looked down upon us since we cannot help them solve their problems, such as underdevelopment, poor transportation and unemployment.

Why doesn’t Golkar propose that legislators be included in regional administrations’ consultative and planning boards to avoid the impression that the House is taking over the executive body’s authority?

We want to propose an effective way for us to establish priorities in regional development and to supervise it. We would not have proposed the special funds if the government and local administrations could carry out the development quickly and evenly.

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