W

est Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan and West Java Financial Office head Sri Mulyono have been reported to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for misusing grant funds and social assistance funds.

The report was filed by the Budget Advocacy Group (BAG), which is led by Dedi Haryadi.

Dedi said that the administration had inappropriately approved the disbursement of Rp 1.4 trillion (US$155 million) for grant and social assistance funds from the province’s 2013 budget to provide cash payments to 5,304 villages, 2,000 counseling officers, 400 private higher learning institutes and several farming and fishermen’s groups.

The villages were to have received Rp 100 million each, the counsellors Rp 50 million each, the private higher learning institutes Rp 90 million each and the farmer’s and fishermen’s groups Rp 25 million each.

“Disbursement of the grants is suspect, as it might have been done to advance the governor’s interests to rally political support, in this case from beneficiaries of the grant and social assistance funds,” Dedi said.

According to Dedi, disbursement of such funds was part of pork barrel politics. “Corruption can be simply defined as using state funds for personal interests. I see this as a corrupt practice,” Dedi said.

The report included allegations against Mulyono, whom Dedi said was coopted by the governor. “He [Heryawan] collaborated with the financial office head. The strategy to disburse the grant and social assistance funds was a conspiracy. I hope that the KPK will follow up on the report,” Dedi said.

Earlier, Heryawan denied that the disbursement was related to his current reelection campaign, noting that such assistance had been disbursed in previous years, typically in January or February. “No one ever raised doubts earlier, so why now? What’s up with this?” Heryawan said.

The governor, a Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician, said that the disbursement had no connection with his reelection campaign. “It was simply executing the budget,” Heryawan said.

Mulyono said that the disbursements were not done inappropriately, but following a proposal that was reviewed and approved by officials.

He cited the disbursement of assistance funds for villages as an example, claiming that each request was reviewed by officials, who turned down several requests..

Regarding the timing of the report to the KPK in the run-up to the election, Dedi said that he was just taking advantage of the moment.

“An activist will make every effort to eradicate the practice of corruption. Unexpectedly, now is the moment. Please take note that pork barrel politics persists across the country,” Dedi said.

Six campaigns are vying to lead West Java: Incumbent Governor Ahmad “Aher” Heryawan and actor and director Deddy Mizwar; actress and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Rieke Diah Pitaloka and antigraft activist Teten Masduki; incumbent West Java Deputy Governor Yusuf Macan “Dede Yusuf” Effendi and Lex Laksamana; Golkar Party politician Irianto “Yance” MS Syaifuddin and Tatang Farhanul Hakim; and independent candidate Dikdik Mulyana Arif Mansur and his running mate, Cecep Nana Suryana Toyib.

West Java, home to more than 49 million residents, is the most populous and densely populated province in the country.

The province is slated to go to the polls on Feb. 24.