Observer: The Meeting Of Members Of The DKI DPRD At The Bogor Hotel With The Reasons For COVID-19, Clearly Doesn't Make Sense

JAKARTA - The Secretary General of the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), Misbah Hasan, questioned the attitude of the DPRD and the DKI Provincial Government to hold a meeting to discuss changes to the Jakarta Regional Budget for the 2020 budget year in the Puncak area, Bogor, West Java.

Misbah considered the meeting held at Grand Cempaka Cipayung Bogor on the grounds of avoiding the spread of COVID-19 transmission as absurd.

"Meetings outside the city on the grounds of COVID-19 clearly don't make sense. Because the position of exposure to COVID-19 between Jakarta and Bogor is the same as in Puncak, let alone invite hundreds of people like that. That still has the potential to be exposed to COVID-19," said Misbah when contacted, Wednesday, October 21.

Misbah suspects that there are other indications that the discussion of budget changes to take place outside the DKI DPRD Building. One of the allegations is that budget absorption can increase.

"By discussing the amended APBD outside the city, there are consequences for official travel budgets, accommodation, lodging, and honoraria. I am not sure about the reasons for preventing COVID-19," said Misbah.

In fact, according to him, if you want to avoid COVID-19, the DKI DPRD can actually hold virtual meetings. This further ensures that there is no potential for transmission of the corona virus.

"But, still have to prioritize transparency and public participation. So live streaming must be published so that the public can see, monitor and provide input on the discussion," said Misbah.

As is known, all members of the DKI DPRD together with the DKI Provincial Government SKPD reportedly held a meeting to discuss changes to the 2020 DKI Regional Budget at the Grand Cempaka Hotel, Puncak, Bogor.

Acting Secretary of the Council Hadameon Aritonang explained the reasons for holding the DKI DPRD meeting in the Puncak area. He said, the meeting room there could be arranged openly. Unlike the DPRD building which is closed because it uses air-conditioned rooms.

"The reason for the meeting in the Puncak area is because it needs open space to anticipate the spread of COVID-19 only. There, we open all our windows. If the office is all closed, there are no windows. Here, you can," Hadameon explained.