TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Ahok readies for impeachment for law violations
Jakarta Governor Basuki âAhokâ Tjahaja Purnama says he is ready to be dismissed if he is proven guilty of violating the law in connection with a political row over the cityâs 2015 budget
Change Size
J
akarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama says he is ready to be dismissed if he is proven guilty of violating the law in connection with a political row over the city's 2015 budget.
'If I violated the law, no problem, use the inquiry rights and report me to the Supreme Court because I have said I am ready to be impeached,' he said in Jakarta on Friday.
Ahok, who has no supporting party in the council, questioned what laws he had violated, saying what he had done was to save state funds in the capital city.'¨
He said he submitted a draft law prepared through the e-budgeting mechanism to the Home Ministry for approval because he found indications of markups worth Rp 12.1 trillion in the draft budget endorsed by the City Council.
'The council endorsed the budget in its plenary session. Regarding signatures, I have already reported to the home minister that I submitted a draft law with printed signatures. They [the City Council] then carried out deceit by inserting programs worth Rp 12.1 trillion,' Antara news agency quoted him as saying.
After all 106 councilors gave their support for the council to use its inquiry rights, the council set up on Thursday a 33-member special committee to carry out a political investigation into what the council called Ahok's violation of the 2014 Legislative Institution Law and 2004 Regional Administration Law, in the next 60 days.
Ahok said the 106 councilors should bear in mind that he was not greedy and would maintain his top position in the city by accepting the council's move to insert the contentious programs into the budget.
He challenged the council to seriously carry out the political inquiry to let the public know who was wrong and right in the case.
'I don't know whether the City Council is serious or not, but I want the council to carry out the inquiry seriously. It could be a good lesson to better this republic,' he said.
He said the wider public was also suspicious of the council because they had difficulty believing the councilors by observing their luxurious lifestyles. (rms)
