A minister defended the Corruption Eradication Commission's decision to pay Rp 4 billion ($470,000) to charter a private jet in Bogota, Colombia, with which to extradite graft suspect Muhammad Nazaruddin back to Jakarta.
"Where does the KPK get the budget? From the state budget, so what?" Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto said at the State Palace on Friday.
August 12, 2011
Nazaruddin's 22-hour flight cost $7,000 to $8,000 per hour, not including fees for landing, navigation and the plane's return flight to Bogota, Djoko explained.
According to private jet charter companies previously interviewed by the Jakarta Globe, the price range for charter planes is typically between $3,000 per hour at the lower end to $9,000 at the higher end of the scale.
"Whether it's expensive or not is relative. It's not like a flight from Nganjuk [East Java] to Solo [Central Java], but from another part of the world, so we decided to use a chartered plane," he said firmly.
The former Democratic Party treasurer left Colombia at around 5:20 a.m. Jakarta time, accompanied by 10 representatives from the KPK, police and immigration.
Nazaruddin's safety has become a top priority for the joint team escorting him, and once in Jakarta he will be taken directly to the KPK for legal processing.
He was arrested by Interpol on Sunday in Cartagena, Colombia, based on information circulated in a red notice publicizing the hunt for the errant lawmaker.
(x the JG)
( What a scandulous waste of money that could have been better used just about anywhere else in Indonesia. siK.)
vr 12 aug 2011 - 8:06