TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) suspects the electronic identity card or e-KTP procurement was plagued with a big markup. Auditors from the Finance and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) have been invited to KPK to verify the numbers.

“The markup of the items is the modus operandi,” says the KPK spokesperson, Febri Diansyah. KPK suspects that the overwhelming distribution of grafts is a direct effect of these markups.

According to KPK’s suspicion, the markups were implemented in nearly each item's specification. The markup deviation is outstanding if it is compared to the e-KTP procurement for 172 million citizens in 497 cities and districts.

Sugiharto, the defendant of the e-KTP graft case, had set the price of each individual e-KTP blank cards without conducting any form of market research. He set the expenses based on the price list of the vendor company, PT HP Indonesia. KPK suspects that the expenses spent on the technology, tools, and basic materials of the e-KTP are considerably lower.

Read: KPK to Reveal New Suspects in e-KTP Graft Case

The e-KTP blank card procurement was planned to be 172,015,400 pieces, but it turned out to be 122,109,759 pieces by December 31, 2013. For the data recording, it was originally planned to exclusively use iris recognition technology, but in the realization, there were some that used fingerprints.

Polyvinyl chloride was originally planned to be used as the card’s material since it is strong and does not easily decay. In the realization, the material used is polyethylene terephthalate glycol which is prone to decay and damage overtime.

Related to the card’s function, it was initially planned to be a single identity number that is integrated with every public service system. However, the goals were missed; it is not integrated with passport, driver’s license, or bank savings. They have also missed the deadline, it was planned to be complete by the end of 2012 but up to this moment, the project is barely complete.

A prime example of markups practices at the e-KTP project can be seen on the price of the chip, which is listed in the contract at the price of Rp9,400. KPK concludes that it should have only been Rp3,675 per item.

TEMPO MAGAZINE| RINA W.