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AGO proposes Rp 400 billion budget to renovate burned building
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A fire engulfs the main building of the Attorney General's Offfice on Aug. 23, 2020. Firefighters were still tackling the blaze, which had broken out the previous day. (Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
T
he Attorney General's Office (AGO) has proposed additional budgetary funds of Rp 400 billion (US$26.7 million) to renovate its headquarters in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, which was severely damaged following a fire that engulfed its main building in mid-August.
Deputy Attorney General Setia Untung Arimuladi said in Monday's hearing with House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs that the damage had disrupted its work.
"The AGO requests that Commission III support and approve the additional Rp 400 billion for [its] 2021 budget to finance the reconstruction of our main building," he said.
As a result of the damage, Attorney General ST Burhanuddin and a number of his staffers were relocated to the office’s training center buildings in Ragunan, South Jakarta and Ceger, East Jakarta to do their daily duties, according to Setia.
"The fire has disturbed our main duties, so it is necessary to renovate the building,” he added.
Read also: Graft suspect's office destroyed in AGO blaze
Previously, the 2021 budget for the AGO was set at Rp 9.2 trillion. However, the Finance Ministry agreed to give an additional Rp 2.2 trillion on Aug. 5, which was before the fire.
“The fire occurred after [the AGO’s 2021 budget proposal] was approved on Aug. 5. Therefore we haven’t allocated the renovation cost in the 2021 budget,” he said.
The August fire gutted floors three to six of the AGO building, where the departments of intelligence, human resources, legal and planning were located.
It also affected the office of prosecutor Pinangki Sirna Malasari, whom the AGO has named a suspect for allegedly accepting US$500,000 in bribes and meeting several times with tycoon Djoko Soegiarto Tjandra.
The Attorney General as well as Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD, however, were quick to deny that the fire had destroyed evidence related to Pinangki’s case and other high-profile graft cases the AGO is investigating, including one involving state insurer PT Jiwasraya, which the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) said had caused a record Rp 16.81 trillion in state losses.
