Grease Money for New Cities
Dozens of regents have paid billions of rupiah to the Home Affairs Ministry to see that a new law on redefining the regions goes through. Is this justifiable, on the grounds that the central government is short of cash? Or is it just an illegal tax?
March 5, 2002
The spirit in Noor Daeng Rahmatu rages like that of a dragon. The creation of the Parigi Moutong regency, an aim he has struggled to realize for years, is about to become a reality. Or at least he hopes so. "We have been pushing for this for two generations," he said.
His father, local legislator Daeng Rahmatu, was after this holy grail from the 1960s, but the idea always foundered on the rocks of Jakarta.
The long struggle seem
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