Home Ministry Forms Team to Stem Row between Ahok, Council

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Reydonnyzar Moenek, the director general of regional financial management at the Home Affairs Ministry, said the ministry would form a team to help the Jakarta administration revise the draft Jakarta budget that the ministry recently returned.

He explained the ministry would also assign the team to stem the conflict between the Jakarta administration and the Jakarta Legislative Council (DPRD DKI Jakarta) over the buddget. According to Reydonnyzar, the ministry had received the council’s letter explicating that the budget proposed by Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama was inconsistent with what had been jointly agreed by both parties.

“We will confirm and follow-up on [the letter],” he told Tempo on Monday, February 16, 2015.

The Jakarta Legislative Council was planning to exercise its rights of interpellation and inquiry after the Home Affairs Ministry returned the draft Jakarta budget on February 7. Jakarta Legislative Council deputy speaker Mohamad Taufik has also accused Ahok of violating the law for sending details of the budget not previously discussed with th capital's councillors to the ministry. Taufik said the issue could lead to impeachment.

Meanwhile, Ahok said he was not concerned with the impeachment threat and would let the city council to exercise its interpellation right. Ahok claimed he had evidence that showing the council had proposed fictive programs.

YOLANDA RYAN ARMIDYA | LINDA HAIRANI