Government to build more prisons

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 01/12/2010 7:51 PM

The government is planning to allocate Rp 1 trillion (US$109 million) to build new prisons in the country, which has been plagued by the chronic problem of overcapacity.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Tuesday he had ordered Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati to allot money for construction of new prisons and improve the condition of existing penitentiaries.

"I have asked that new prisons be immediately built. I hope the funds allocated will be quite significant," Yudhoyono said opening a Cabinet meeting on unused 2009 state budget at the Presidential Office.

"Many prisons across Indonesia are in poor condition," he added.

The President’s remarks came on the heels of an impromptu visit by the taskforce formed to root out judicial corruption at Pondok Bambu women’s prison in East Jakarta, on Sunday evening, which found certain inmates enjoyed exclusive facilities.

The team found a television set, spacious bed, sofa, tape player, air-conditioned rooms and a karaoke lounge, among others, for bribery convict Artalita Suryani and drug convict Liem Marita.

These inmates argued the prisons were in poor condition and they would pay for better to the prison warden.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said after Tuesday's Cabinet meeting that the government would allocate Rp 1 trillion (US$1 billion) for the program by revising the 2010 state budget.

"In terms of capacity, the prisons are in poor condition. So, building new prisons will be incorporated into the government's priority program in the [revised] 2010 state budget," Mulyani said.

"We will allocate Rp 1 trillion, based on a proposal made by the justice and human rights minister, who has set a plan regarding the number of prisons that need building and where their locations," she added.