The Jakarta Post, May 04, 2006
Students protest against alleged embezzlement of refugee funds
M. Azis Tunny, The Jakarta Post, Ambon
Students rallied at the Maluku governor's office and the local prosecutor's office
Wednesday to protest the alleged misappropriation of reconstruction and resettlement
funds.
The protesters, from the Maluku City Forum (Forkot), also demanded the dissolution
of the Maluku People's Anti-Corruption Forum (Formasi), headed by Maluku Governor
Karel Albert Ralahalu, which they claimed had failed to punish those involved in
corruption.
The forum was formed in 2004, in response to President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono's call for an all-out war against corruption.
Protesters said the forum, which includes bureaucrats, legislators and public figures,
had failed to deal with corruption in Maluku, especially in connection with funds meant
to assist people displaced by years of religious violence in the region.
About 3,850 families are reportedly still waiting for assistance to move into permanent
homes.
"The creation of Formasi was merely a mechanical response to the President's
declared war on corruption. The forum has not once submitted a corruption case to
prosecutors, let alone bringing a case to trial," Maluku Forkot head Syaiful Chaniago
said.
He said the misappropriation of funds for displaced persons was widespread by
contractors appointed by the local government to build houses for the families, with
the result being generally poor quality houses often unfit for habitation. He added that
displaced persons also were not receiving the assistance to which they were entitled,
including a one-time cash payment of Rp 500,000 (US$55.50) for each person.
"All parties, especially law enforcers and the provincial administration, should make
resolving the misappropriation of funds for displaced persons a priority. But instead
they have chosen to protect unscrupulous contractors," Syaiful said.
He cited the alleged misappropriation of Rp 606 million meant to purchase building
materials for displaced persons in Salahutu, Central Maluku regency, by a contractor.
"Our brothers and sisters who were victimized by the conflict are still living in
miserable conditions, despite the fact that the central government has disbursed more
than Rp 600 billion since 2000. The lack of supervision of the problem is due to people
with vested interests who wish to benefit from the situation by exploiting the displaced
persons," said one protester.
This is not the first time contractors hired to build homes for displaced persons have
been accused of pocketing reconstruction funds.
Earlier, hundreds of displaced persons converged on the Maluku legislative building to
demand that action be taken against corrupt building contractors.
It was reported then that houses had been built in violation of standard specifications,
and were already in need of repair before they were even occupied.
When asked to comment on the allegations, Maluku Social Welfare Office head
Cristian Hehanussa said the office appointed the contractors to carry out
construction, but did not directly supervise their work.
"We have not done any supervision. All we do is provide the money for building
materials to be distributed to the contractors. If there are instances of houses being
built that are not up to standard, we will ask them to rebuild the homes," he said.
Hehanussa said there were still 3,850 displaced families throughout the province
waiting to be resettled. The central government has allocated Rp 51 billion this year to
assist the displaced persons, but the money has yet to be disbursed to the families.
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