Poor quality: A police officer helps mechanics repair a
Transjakarta bus that stalled on Jl. HR Rasuna Said, South Jakarta, on
Wednesday. At least 15 of the 90 Chinese-made buses broke down in the
first few days of being on the road, raising doubt over their road
worthiness and suspicion about corruption. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama has said that he
has found indications of irregularities in the bidding process of the
troubled Transjakarta bus procurement project currently being handled by
the city’s Transportation Agency.
Ahok told reporters on
Wednesday that the Jakarta Inspectorate was still undertaking the
investigation but that he had found indications of possible fraud.
“In
August the head of the Development Finance Comptroller’s [BPKP] Jakarta
chapter, Muhammad Yusuf, stated that the bidding process of the 330
Transjakarta buses should be reexamined and the tender should be
halted,” he said.
Ahok said, however, that the Transportation Agency continued the tender, despite the BPKP’s report.
“My instructions are clear. The BPKP should be included in every tender of the city’s projects,” he said.
Ahok
also questioned why the Jakarta Inspectorate allowed the bidding to
continue without any monitoring from the BPKP. The case of the faulty
buses was highlighted when pictures of damaged components of the newly
arrived Chinese-made buses circulated on social media.
It was
reported that around 15 newly shipped buses — 10 single buses and five
articulated buses — which were produced by Ankai, were allegedly not in a
new condition and were not in line with the specifications of the
order.
The damaged components included power-steering parts,
engine mounts, machine pulleys and air filters. The buses’ water coolant
tanks were leaking, windshields were broken, dashboard instruments were
unscrewed and air conditioning units were faulty.
Ahok said he
also questioned the inclination of the agency to procure vehicles from
China. Products made in China, he said, could be of high quality but
could sometimes also be fake.
The administration had paid 20 percent of the total contract for the buses, which was Rp 1 trillion (US$85 million).
“If
we have to pay it and we find out that the actual price from China was
less than the price that has been recorded, the case will be brought to
the police or the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK],” he said,
adding that the price of the buses was Rp 3 billion per unit.
Reports involving damaged Transjakarta buses appear frequently.
On
Tuesday alone, three Transjakarta buses experienced breakdowns in
separate locations, disrupting services and causing congestion.
In
the afternoon, an articulated Transjakarta bus, BMP 057, stopped
working when it was about to leave the PGC Cililitan bus station in East
Jakarta, disrupting the flow of other buses that were queued behind it.
“I take Transjakarta buses to work because I want to travel
faster, but this kind of problem can make me late,” Aan, a regular
passenger who works in Kuningan, said.
She said it was not the
first time she had experienced bus problems. Previously, she was onboard
a bus that passengers were forced to exit due to a smell of gas.
On
Wednesday, a damaged oil seal on an articulated Transjakarta bus caused
it to produce white smoke while on Jl. Gajah Mada in Central Jakarta.
Source : http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/02/20/city-finds-irregularities-faulty-buses.html
