TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The report by the inspector-general of the Defense Ministry on the purchase of rocket launchers by the Indonesian Army (TNI-AD) in 2012 must be treated seriously by the government. According to the inspectorate, the purchase violated regulations on materiel and service procurement, and caused a Rp1 trillion loss to the state.
In fact, the finding was submitted to the Defense Minister, who at that time was Purnomo Yusgiantoro. But he ignored it. Not long after the Astros II Mk 6 rocket launchers arrived in Jakarta, the report emerged and was distributed around. Astros II was the newest far-range multi-launcher rocket system, a product of a weapons manufacturing company in Brazil called Avibras Industria Aeroespacial (Avibras). The TNI-AD purchased 32 packets of these rockets, consisting of trucks, launchers and missiles in a variety of sizes.
According to the report, the process of tendering the Astros II breached a regulation, and the price was considered to be too high. Avibras sold the rocket launchers for US$404 million. But for that type and the same amount, the Turkish weapons company Roketsan Missiles only asked for US$270 million. Even more suspicious, in the middle of the tender the procurement committee negotiated with Avibras. In a letter to Minister Purnomo, the inspector-general had proposed that the tender be re-done. But once again, the minister ignored the suggestion.
It's not too late for both the government and law enforcers to follow up on this report. The conclusion of the inspector-general that the purchase of the Astros II was problematic must have had good reasons. This internal body is tasked with carrying out financial audits and has access to a number of data and internal documents on all staff involved.
The government can ask the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) to do another audit. The Defense Ministry, including Purnomo, must be made accountable. Why was such an important finding be stored away in a drawer? Why did Purnomo later allow the purchase to continue, when the evidence and indication of violations were clear and the losses massive?
It would be even better if the government submitted this case to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Through its international network, the KPK can find the right price of the main weapons system (Alutsista) purchased, something that is probably difficult to be carried out by the inspectorate. The KPK, for example, can ask the help of the anticorruption institute in Malaysia to find the price of the Astros II they bought. Reportedly, in 2000, Malaysia bought 18 packets of rocket launchers for only US$53 million.
The suspicion that the purchase of the main weapons system was the 'game' of certain parties has been around for some time. There have been similar cases, from the purchase of Sukhoi jets during the presidency of Megawati Soekarnoputri to the procurement of Leopard tanks by the previous administration, which was criticized by former Vice President B.J. Habibie. All those cases were heard for a while, then they disappeared.
This case can be the entry point to yet another audit of all purchases of the past once considered to be questionable, in order to push for more transparency in the procurement of weapons. In the past four years, 2010 to 2014, the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono allocated a budget of about Rp150 trillion to buy Alutsista. President Joko Widodo once promised to raise it three times if the national economy improved. With a budget as big as that, it is only proper that the procurement of these weapons should always be monitored, to avoid any abuse. (*)
