Indonesian President’s New Plane ‘Will Benefit Future Leaders’

Jakarta Globe, Arientha Primanita, February 10, 2012

Lambock Nahattands , a spokesman for the state secretary’s office,
shows off the new ‘Indonesian Air Force One’ plane, a Boeing 737-800
Business Jet, during a media conference in Jakarta on Thursday.
The amount of money spent on the plane has drawn criticism.
Antara Photo/Widodo S Jusuf 

     

Related articles

• Indonesia President Gives Media Good and Bad Report
• President Calls on Indonesians to Ensure Food Security
• Democratic Party Vows to Regain No. 1 Status
• Indonesian President’s New Plane to Cost $89 Million: Fitra
• Indonesia's Ruling Democratic Party Must Lose Corruption Suspects: Analysts

The spokesman for the state secretary’s office said on Thursday that the controversial $89 million purchase of a new presidential plane made sense because of the mileage future Indonesian presidents would get out of it.

“Don’t assume that the current president [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] is the only one who wants to use the plane,” said Lambock Nahattands, the state secretary office’s secretary.

The new plane, a 737-800 series Boeing Business Jet, is not scheduled to be ready for action until August 2013, while the president’s term ends in October 2014, Lambock said.

Lambock said the presidential palace would probably use the plane for 35 years, in keeping with a 2006 Ministry of Transportation regulation on aviation standards.

“So we can see who gets to enjoy the plane,” Lambock said. “The current president and vice president will only get to use it for a short time.”

Budget watchdog the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) has criticized the purchase, saying the plane is too lavish and unnecessary an expenditure for a country with so many millions of people mired in poverty.

Fitra also accused the palace of exceeding the $58 million budget approved by the House of Representatives, accusing the palace of failing to publicly mention another $31 million that had been earmarked to outfit the plane’s interior and pay for its security system.

Lambock said the extra spending was necessary.

“For the interior and security we will hold a tender and the price can still change,” he said, adding that the government had respectively earmarked $27 million and $4 million for the interior and security features.

Earlier reports have indicated that the plane’s onboard amenities would include a bedroom, bathroom and shower, as well as a dining area and conference room. Lambock said the government had been planning to purchase a presidential plane even before Yudhoyono became president in 2004.

Currently, the president uses a plane rented from flag carrier Garuda Indonesia. Lambock said the new arrangement would ultimately save money and add safety.

Indonesia also requested Boeing to install six more fuel tanks so the plane could do a 12 hour non-stop flight, just like Boeing’s biggest plane, the 747.

“We need a plane that can both land on small runways and do long flights, so we need a special configuration,” Lambock said.

In a nod to the plane used by the president of the United States, the new aircraft would be called “Indonesian Air Force One.”