TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Regional Representatives Council (DPD) has proposed a budget for a new building on 68,000 square meters of land that would cost Rp929 billion.
DPD Secretary General Soedarsono Hardjosoekarto said that the proposal has been submitted by DPD Speaker Oesman Sapta Odang to President Joko Widodo. “DPD Speaker personally met the President and submitted an official letter in June regarding building construction,” Soedarsono told Tempo yesterday.
Read: Expert: DPR Inconsiderate by Demanding New Building
The plan for new DPD building was made separately from that of the House of Representatives (DPR), according to Soedarsono. He said that the plan had been deliberated by the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR), DPR and DPD since 2014.
Nevertheless, he said that the budget for a new DPD building was not included in the budget cap for 2018. For the time being, the government has set a budget cap of Rp1.08 trillion for DPD next year.
In an interview with Tempo on August 10, DPD Speaker Oesman expected the construction of the new building to begin next year.
Public Works Ministry official Sri Hartoyo claimed that his office had conducted a study on the DPD proposal. “The ball is now in the DPD court. We will not intervene,” he said.
Lucius Karus, a researcher at the Indonesian Parliament Watch (Formappi), expects the government to reject the proposals for DPD and DPR new buildings. He said that the performance of the DPD has been as poor as the DPR. “They should also work in their region because they are regional representatives, not in Jakarta,” Lucius said. He has warned of misuse of the project budget by political parties, adding that most of the DPD senators are members of the Hanura Party led by Oesman.
INDRI MAULIDAR | AHMAD FAIZ | HUSSEIN ABRI DONGORAN