Forbbiden Turkish delight

By Dr. Terry Lacey

(May 07, Jakarta, Sri Lanka Guardian) A controversial trip to Turkey organized by South Jakarta local government officials has started a political row about a suspected freebie trip during the general election, despite a travel ban. This may lead to punishment of officials who disobeyed government instructions, scrutiny of how the trip was justified, and whether the trip caused losses to state funds.

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo has ordered an investigation by inspectorate head Sukesti Martono, on who gave permission for 50 officials to travel to Turkey and for what reason. People will also want to know who paid the US $130,000 bill.

Indonesia is in a sensitive period between a general election on April 9th and an upcoming Presidential election on July 8th in the midst of a global economic crisis which has hit Indonesian exports and inward investment, causing job layoffs.

At the 42nd annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Bali on Monday 4th May, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued a stern warning that “Poverty is worsening in many countries, businesses are struggling…If all this goes unchecked down the road we could see social and political unrest in many countries”. (Jakarta Post 05.05.09).

He said the attainment of Asia´s Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) including to halve extreme poverty, reduce infant mortality, and fight epidemics like HIV/AIDs (and now SARs and swine-flu), were at risk due to the crisis.

ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda pointed out Monday that 60 million more people will remain trapped in poverty this year in the Asia Pacific region, to be joined by another 100 million next year, with the poverty line at $1.25 dollars per day.

This is not the time for public controversy over 50 Indonesian civil servants blowing away the daily income of 100,000 Indonesian poor people on a trip to Turkey .

The Home Ministry gave a clear instruction signed by the Minister of Home Affairs prohibiting travel for governors and mayors from taking leave between 8th and 10th April, specifically requiring district and sub-district heads to be in their offices between April 5th and April 20th (for counting votes).

But this mass excursion to Turkey of 50 local government officials took place between April 14th and 26th.

South Jakarta municipal secretary Mangara Pardede denied this was a vacation and said that it was part of an Umrah pilgrimage, and that permission had been given.

Does piety in public administration mean public support for private pilgrimages ? Were state travel rules broken ? What was the justification ? Did the public pay for this?

The Ministry of Finance just pushed the Ministry of Religious Affairs to buy Haj Islamic Bonds to reduce alleged embezzlement by public officials of interest on Haj and Umrah Trust Funds.

The Haj should not be used by public officials as an excuse to do what they like.

Inspectorate head Sukesti Martono, conducting the investigation, said the officials should be in their offices while vote counting was going on. “If they insisted to leave, they definitely had no sensitivity at all,” he said. “Officials who gave permits for the trip might also face sanctions because they also disobeyed the ruling,” he said.

Indonesia had 4.5 percent economic growth in quarter one. The Rupiah was the best performing currency in the world in April 2009. The recent first-time state-issued US$650 million dollar-denominated Islamic bond issued in Jakarta was over-subscribed by seven times reflecting its good terms, the strength of underlying assets and the outstanding reputation of Indonesia for political and economic stability. Indonesian consumer confidence is reportedly at one of the highest levels in the world.

When President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono wins his presidential election in July on his impressive track record, and forms his new government on an agenda of continuing economic and social reform, he will have to deal with civil servants who still believe that public administration means the right to private privileges at state expense, regardless of the problems facing the people, state priorities and rules.

Terry Lacey is a development economist who writes from Jakarta on modernization in the Muslim world, investment and trade relations with the EU and Islamic banking.

-Sri Lanka Guardian