TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The House of Representatives (DPR) plans to increase the budget for overseas visits in the draft 2018 state budget (RAPBN) to Rp343.5 billion or 70 percent hike from this year budget.
The DPR Household Affairs Council Deputy Speaker Agung Budi Santoso said that the increased budget is accumulated from working visit fund in 2016 that was cut following a moratorium on parliament overseas visit. “To reinstate the previous fund. What used to be banned is now allowed,” he said yesterday. Higher budget is also proposed to make adjustments over increased hotel and plane ticket prices.
Agung argued that overseas visits are necessary to get input on draft bills deliberations.
The National Mandate Party politician Ahmad Bakri concurred that a budget increase is needed. He believes that overseas visits will improve legislation products.
“We need some reference for comparison,” he said. DPR Deputy Speaker Taufik Kurniawan agrees with him. “Overseas visits have a lot of benefits,” he said.
Secretary General of Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) Yenny Sucipto said that budget increase for working visits seems odd because the proposal is made ahead of the upcoming legislative election. “They need more [funds] for campaign; from working visit funds with one lump sum payment,” he said.
Hussein Abri Dongoran | Agung S