Golkar's Threat over Pork Barrel Issue

(News Today) - Disappointed by House of Representatives (DPR) members who turned down its pork barrel proposal, the Golkar party is threatening to quit the government’s joint coalition secretariat (Setgab).

"If we cannot stay together, if we don’t have the same views anymore, what is the use for us to stay in the Setgab," Yamin Tawari, associate chairman of Golkar’s Executive Board, said on Wednesday in response to the DPR leadership decision to shelve a Golkar proposal on ’aspiration funds.’

The Golkar has tabled an aspiration funds proposal, where each House member would be given control over Rp15 billion in funds from the state budget to implement development projects considered urgent in the electoral region he or she is representing. On the whole, it would mean an additional state expenditure of Rp8,4 trillion per year.

However, the House of Representatives leadership has decided to shelve the Golkar Party faction’s proposal. The decision was taken at a House leadership meeting on Monday (June 7) after consultations with the finance minister, National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) chief, deputy finance minister and the chairman of the House’s Budgetary Affairs Body.

With the decision, Golkar is considering breaking away from the government’s joint coalition secretariat (Setgab) if political parties in coalition fail to find common views on its aspiration funds proposal.

"Representatives of parties in coalition have discussed the aspiration funds for members of the House of Representatives at the Setgab. All have to share common responsibility," Yamin Tawari said Wednesday night.

He said that at a meeting at the Sekgab none of the coalition members had refused the proposal but later their members at the House said they rejected it. While, in fact, the aspiration funds proposal had not yet been discussed formally, yet the DPR members and factions rejected it.

"The DPR, the House Budgetary Body in particular, should have officially deliberated the matter first. At this forum, factions could forward their arguments. So, if they reject or accept it they would have clear grounds," Yamin said.

However, lawmakers of the political parties in coalition had said to the media that they had turned down the proposal, even if it had not yet been officially deliberated by the House.

In this case, Golkar felt it was being left behind by other coalition members. "If we cannot stay together and have no more similar views, what is the use for as to stay in the Setgab," Yamin Tawari said.

He said that he had made the statement not because Golkar was angry or was threatening to quit the secretariat but because it wanted that the coalition members would be consistent with their proposals.

According to House Vice Speaker Promono Anung, the House leadership meeting had discussed the various aspects of the proposal and in the process had questioned the way in which the figure Rp15 billion was arrived at, and how the funds would be channeled and spent. "Since there was no clarity on these points, we rejected the proposal," he said.

If the proposal was approved, it would only create opportunities for the misuse of the funds in the regions, Pramono said. The more so, he added, because even now many regions were still unable to absorb allocated budget funds properly due to the absence of a transparent and accountable spending mechanism.

"In our view, the proposed aspiration funds may be easily misappropriated by the legislators concerned, or spent to serve their own personal or political interests," he said.

Therefore, although the Golkar Party faction’s proposal had already been programmed for further discussion in the House, "the House leadership still has the discretionary power to shelve it," said Pramono, a member of the Indonesian Democracy Party-Struggle (PDI-P).

"I am sure the aspiration funds proposal has no chance to be approved, and we in the House leadership are of one mind on this matter," he said.

Previously, other Golkar Party associate chairman Priyo Budi Santoso said the Golkar Party would not push its "aspiration" funds proposal if all other parties in parliament rejected the idea but instead called for an alternative scheme called "stimulus funds".

"If none of the other party factions in the House supports the aspiration funds proposal, we will move for the allocation of rural development stimulus funds of Rp1 billion per village," he said.

If the proposal to give each House member Rp15 billion in aspiration funds was not approved, Golkar would ask for the provision of special funds to spur rural development at a rate of Rp1 billion for every village in the country, he said.

Priyo denied that the aspiration funds idea was evolved by Golkar alone, saying other parties had once also favored it. "It is quite ironic that people are now saying it is only Golkar that wants it." he said.

Source : kompas.com

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