Attorney General M. Prasetyo highlighted the office’s shortage of operational funds during the work meeting, which discussed the AGO’s budgetary allocation in the revised 2016 state budget with House Commission III, which oversees security, human rights and legal affairs.

“The AGO’s budget for the handling of cases, comprising general crimes, special crimes, state administration and civil crimes, is far from sufficient,” Prasetyo said during the meeting at the House complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Monday.

Junior attorney for development Bambang Waluyo said the office wanted the additional Rp 310 billion for a number of things, such as Rp 32 billion to furnish low-cost apartments for employees in Kedoya, West Jakarta; the procurement of intelligence equipment; the execution of a court order against the Supersemar Foundation; surveillance activities; and to make up for the budget shortfall from the amount it was allocated last year.

Furnishing the low-cost apartments is deemed important because many senior AGO officials occupy houses initially intended for rank and file employees.

Regarding intelligence equipment, Bambang said the AGO did not have standardized information security. “It could cost as much as Rp 97.7 billion," Bambang said.

The AGO initially received Rp 4.71 trillion from the state budget, or Rp 361 billion less than it received in 2015. (ebf)

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