TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - It appears that the House of Representatives (DPR) has set its mind on pressing ahead with the new building project. The previously shelved project reappeared in the indicative threshold for the draft 2018 state budget. The government has allocated Rp320 billion for the construction of the building and Rp281 billion for Democracy Square which will be constructed in front of the parliament building.

Last May, in a joint circular on the indicative threshold and the draft of the 2018 work plan, the finance minister and the national development planning minister had crossed out the said plan. The DPR was granted a threshold of Rp4.35 trillion of the Rp7.24 trillion requested. However, a new circular memo, discreetly issued last July, saw a hike in the threshold to Rp5.72 trillion. The allotment for the new building and the square planned as a multiyear project to be rolled out in the course of four years made its way back to the budget, arousing the suspicion of backroom dealing between the DPR and the government.

The decision to accommodate a project that has been repeatedly rejected by the public shows the executive’s inconsistency with the moratorium on the building. Just recently, Vice President Jusuf Kalla made a loud and clear statement that the government still stood by the moratorium for the sake of efficiency. "We hope that the DPR also understands that," he said. The government’s new move clearly contradicts the said stance.

The public might suspect that transactional politics may have occurred, forcing the government to change its stance. Call it a price that must be paid so that the next budget discussion to be held in October could go smoothly. If that suspicion is true, then the government and the DPR violate article 23 of the 1945 Constitution and the state finance law. Both legislations require that budget discussions be held openly and responsibly for the greater welfare of the people.

Secretive discussions aside, the DPR’s pursuit clearly is not for the people’s welfare. Some DPR members argue the current building is leaning. But the public works and housing ministry, which was consulted for advice, had said otherwise. The DPR also cited the need for larger individual offices of 117-square meters-which include a 20-square meter meeting room and a 10-square meter break-room-to enable them to work better. Are these really pressing needs compared to plenty of more important public infrastructure still not yet built due to lack of funds?

The DPR should be ashamed of itself. They should know that with their perfunctory performance, they do not deserve more nor better facilities. Year after year, they fail to meet legislative targets leaving draft policies to keep piling up in Senayan. Last year, out of 50 draft bills, only 10 were passed, and only three out of the targeted 37 in 2015.

The government must be firm in its resolve to reject the project and not to hold budget discussions behind closed doors. And no more rhetoric that it always listens to the public. The public’s stance is very clear. Since 2011, they have repeatedly rejected the project that will consume more than half a trillion rupiah. Accommodating it now with the same weak pretext as in previous years will only let down the public, and lead to their increasing distrust in the government and the DPR.

Read the full story in this week’s edition of Tempo English Magazine