Questioning Premier Su Tseng-chang's (
Su said on Wednesday that no individual was at fault, apparently referring to -- among others -- President Chen Shui-bian (
Pay cut
In addition to calling on Su to resign, Koo said Su should also cut the salaries of the 6,500 public officials who receive special allowance funds in half within the next six months to take responsibility for his comments.
Koo added that the salary cuts were necessary to nip the special allowance fund controversy in the bud and punish officials who have allegedly misused the funds.
Only by halving the officials' salaries, stepping down and pledging never to run for public office again could Su restore the public's confidence in him, Koo said.
He also said that Su had interfered with the judicial system by making the comments about officials' use of the funds.
Koo later softened his demands, however, saying that of the 6,500 officials whose salaries should be halved, "of course, some are innocent and their cases should be handled individually through administrative appeals."
Su made his remarks during a Cabinet meeting in which the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) and the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) briefed Cabinet members about special allowance funds.
A number of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers have objected to Su's remarks, saying that Su may be afraid of an investigation since he is one of the 6,500 officials who receive special allowances every month.
Brushing aside concerns that Su represents the DPP's best chance to hold onto the presidency in 2008, Koo said yesterday that the special allowance fund controversy couldn't be ignored just to protect the party's presidential hopeful.
DGBAS Minister Hsu Jan-yau (
"We did it upon the premier's request," Hsu said.
"My fellow co-workers at the DGBAS and I were not doing this [the briefing] under any form of political pressure because it had nothing to do with politics," he said.
"We merely provided our professional analysis and report regarding the mechanism. We hope that everything was clear and organized," he said.
Low profile
Prior to the press briefing on Wednesday, the DGBAS had maintained a low profile and avoided interviews regarding special allowance funds.
Hsu said it was time to discuss the mechanism for the funds since the issue has affected many government officials and caused a public outcry over the last few weeks.
"This mechanism has existed for more than 50 years. In addition to responding to the premier's request, it is also our job to offer a clear explanation to the public," Hsu said.
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