All 580 lawmakers in Indonesia have been receiving a 50 million rupiah housing allowance per month since October 2024. - AFP
JAKARTA: Under pressure from the public, the House of Representatives has clarified that lawmakers will only receive the controversial Rp 50 million (US$3,065) monthly housing allowance until October, but critics have called for transparency over the policy, insisting that it is still a waste of public money.
Public anger has grown after reports revealed that all 580 lawmakers have been receiving a Rp 50 million housing allowance per month since last October, roughly 10 times Jakarta’s minimum wage and 20 times the minimum in poorer regions.
That perk comes on top of base salary and other benefits, which together can amount to Rp 230 million per month.
House Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said on Tuesday that the newly introduced housing allowance was not a permanent monthly perk and that each lawmaker received it only in their first year in office to cover the cost of renting a house for their full five-year term.
“The allowance is given monthly from October last year until October of this year, totaling Rp 600 million. This is to be used to rent accommodation for five years.
Starting this November, there will be no more monthly housing allowance,” said Dasco, a politician from President Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra Party.
The housing allowance, introduced in September last year through a letter signed by the House’s secretary-general, replaced access to official residences in the Kalibata housing complex in South Jakarta, which have been handed back to the government because many of the houses are no longer habitable.
“There were not enough funds to spend all at once on a housing allowance. That’s why the payment is spread out over 12 months, but the purpose is to pay for housing for the whole five years,” Dasco said.
Dasco’s clarification came a day after hundreds of people demonstrated outside the House complex in Central Jakarta on Monday denouncing the allowance as "excessive" and “insensitive” while many Indonesians continue to struggle with soaring living costs.
Protesters attempting to reach the House building clashed with police officers, who responded with tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowds, causing streets to be shut down and train and bus services to be suspended for several hours.
Critics, including Indonesian Parliament Watch (Formappi), said even if the housing allowance was restricted to one year, the total Rp 600 million per lawmaker remained excessive and unnecessary, and that the funds would be better spent on renovating official residences.
“Whether it is for a year or a whole term, the housing allowance is still overpriced,” Lucius Karus from Formappi said on Wednesday.
The House’s clarification also did little to answer questions about transparency, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said, pointing out that there had been no explanation as to whether there were changes to existing regulations.
“Without clarification on this, the public has every reason to assume that the housing allowance scheme remains in place until current lawmakers’ terms end in 2029,” Egi Primayogha of ICW said.
He urged the House to disclose a full breakdown of lawmakers’ pay, noting that “the lack of detailed information leaves the public in the dark and increases the risk of misuse of funds”.
A series of insensitive remarks from lawmakers also fueLled anger among the public. Ahmad Sahroni from the pro-government NasDem Party dismissed recent calls on social media for the dissolution of the House altogether, describing those who proposed it as “the dumbest people in the world”.
Adding to the outrage was a resurfaced video of several lawmakers, including celebrity-turned-politicians Eko Patrio and Uya Kuya, dancing during the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) annual plenary session on Aug 15.
Many on social media condemned it as proof of how out of touch their representatives have become while people struggle under mounting economic pressure. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
