REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - House of Representatives has not ratified the grant from Australia of four used C 130 Hercules aircrafts. Deputy Chief of Commission I in the House, Tubagus Hasanuddin, move further by asking the government to decline the gift.
"Government should repair the used aircrafts and it can cost 60 million USD or around 15 million USD per unit. It does not make sense that at the same time Australia offers six new similar aircrafts for 15 million USD each," Hasanuddin said on Friday.
Then the cost of the grant and the price of new one were the same. He favors the government to buy a new aircrafts to save the maintenance cost.
"According to Article 23 (1) Number 17/2003 on state finance, the grant from foreign governments or institutions should be ratified by the House," he said.
An analyst from Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) also denounces to the grant. The analyst, Jaleswari Pramodhawardani, prefers buying new Hercules since taking the grant ones
owould pnly inflict greater losses. Government should also examine the condition and the function of the aircrafts. She also urges the House to think whether the grant is related with the Indonesian development.
"We should take firm stance, either accept it or not," Pramodhawardani said.