Asabina sees struggle over SRD 800 million at Biza

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Member of Parliament and BEP chairman Ronny Asabina states that the battle over control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (Biza) is centered solely on the SRD 800 million budget allocated for the elections. He believes this amount is politically attractive to spend on the public vote.
He regrets that the focus of management is not on the actual preparation for the elections. Asabina suggests it was predictable that Pertjajah Luhur (PL), recently in charge, would be pushed out of this position of power. The BEP leader asserts that the PL was brought in as an extension of the ABOP and thus held no real control.
In the program Mmanten Taki on STVS, Asabina noted that, with PL now sidelined, the fight between VHP and ABOP is far from over. Tensions have escalated between PL and ABOP, with PL’s first vice-chairman Bronto Somohardjo hinting that a coalition leader is entangled in two lawsuits. However, he refrained from naming anyone. Asabina acknowledged this claim and awaits further developments.
The BEP leader expects the upcoming elections to be highly competitive and remarks that many politicians are already dreaming of the potential revenue from the oil and gas sector. Ultimately, he says, it’s about a lot of money, stressing that the public must watch closely to see who genuinely has society’s best interests at heart. While people suffer from poverty and rising exchange rates, Asabina laments that parties are instead fighting over ministerial positions.
He also finds it incomprehensible that the labor movement has been sidetracked. He believes the labor movement should include a clause in their agreements to ensure workers are compensated when the exchange rate rises again.
Asabina further addressed the privatization of state-owned companies. While he has no issue with privatization in itself, he believes the timing is inappropriate and questions on whose behalf the government is privatizing. Additionally, he insists that parliament must not be left out of the process.