TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Once again, members of the House of Representatives (DPR) have shown their cunning in the way they work. They have been successful, but not in their work to enact laws. Instead, they have managed to secure funding to construct new buildings for themselves. The state budget, which it was feared might go beyond its deadline, was suddenly passed into law. One day before the recess, the DPR approved the budget. For this 'smart' move, the DPR awarded itself a funding of Rp564 billion.
There are signs that the budget for the construction of DPR buildings was the result of a bargain with the executive branch. Initially, the DPR proposed Rp740 billion. No one knew which building was to be completed first. Shockingly, the DPR dreamed of carrying out seven construction projects with a total value of Rp2.7 trillion. But subsequently this was toned down to three projects at a cost of Rp2.08 trillion. These were to be paid for out of the state budget in phases within three years: fiscal years 2016, 2017 and 2018. President Joko Widodo was inclined to reject this. He even refused to sign the comemorative plaque for the megaproject when he visited the DPR on August 16.
There are good reasons to question this Rp564 billion allocation. The deliberations were not transparent. Some faction members did not even discuss the issue. Perhaps this was because the DPR plan to construct the buildings first emerged in 2011, which immediately triggered public opposition. It is suspected that the approval of the plans this time was the result of a compromise between the government and the majority in the DPR that had worked hard to turn this costly project into reality.
There is a stench of transactional politics about this project. President Jokowi could be accused of being inconsistent in rejecting this DPR building megaproject by approving the budget with only a few corrections. This will have a negative impact on future state budgets because the DPR could again insist on asking for funding for reasons that include, for example, the fact that the project is already underway. The justification from Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro that the DPR funding is a right as a state body cannot be accepted in its entirety. The priority for funding should be for those people who need large budget allocations to improve infrastructure in the villages.
Legislators at the DPR seem to have learned nothing from the loud public opposition to the megaproject plan a while back. Their excuse is that the existing buildings are unfit for use. They say they are working in buildings that are too small because every DPR member needs more expert staff and personnel. However this large number of expert staff, up to seven people, is not reflected in their performance. The target for legislation approval is very small, and many bills are piling up at Senayan.
The tactics used by lawmakers to obtain funding for new buildings by taking advantage of the 2016 state budget deliberations reek of foul play. It may be that the politicians threatened not to pass the budget if the building project was not approved. The government may have been put on the spot because if the budget was not approved, it would have to use the state budget from the previous year, which would not be in line with planned programs.
If this is what happened, the drawing up of a budget under threat is clearly not in accordance with either the 1945 Constitution or the state finances law. According to both legislations, the drafting and the deliberations over the state budget must be democratic, transparent and accountable. The lawmakers should be ashamed, and the DPR building project should be dropped. (*)
