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Two images that emerged over the past few weeks help explain the depth of public outrage directed at the government over its perceived excessive and misdirected spending.

On one hand, there were the photos of the dilapidated suspension bridge in Lebak, Banten, being used by elementary school students. Only after it caught international attention did the local government allocate Rp 1 billion ($112,000) to build a new one.

On the other hand, there was the meeting room of the House of Representatives Budget Committee — now at the center of several graft allegations — renovated for a staggering Rp 20 billion.

Arwani Thomafi, a member of the House’s Household Affairs Committee (BURT), argues that the two shouldn’t be compared because the bridge was dilapidated not due to government neglect, but because of a natural disaster.

But he acknowledged that lawmakers had to pay more attention to the budget proposals from the House secretary general.

“We should only prioritize projects that we urgently need. We, including House speakers, have to learn to be more selective,” he said, adding that lawmakers should also be more sensitive toward the concerns of their constituents.
 
Insensitive, excessive

Still, some critics say the issue is not a question of priorities. Instead, they say displayed sheer excessiveness.

Eva Kusuma Sundari, a lawmaker from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said she was not surprised that her colleagues sought such lavish treatment.

“People elected celebrities and businesspeople as their representatives. Of course, you can’t expect them to pretend to be beggars,” Eva said sarcastically.

A breakdown of the House’s 2012 budget acquired by the Jakarta Globe shows that aside from the Rp 20.3 billion room renovation, it also allocated Rp 1.6 billion for air freshener and Rp 879.8 million for a filing cabinet for the House secretary general.

Prominent architect Bambang Eryudhawan chuckled when he heard the numbers.

“It certainly must stink at the House of Representatives building if they need that much air freshener,” he said.

The architect also questioned the type of filing cabinet purchased, as he speculated that the allocation could buy a fire-proof one big enough to fill a 150-square-meter room, complete with a sophisticated archiving system.

At Rp 20.3 billion, the total renovation cost for the Budget Committee meeting room comes out to about Rp 203 million per square meter, which Bambang says is almost 20 times the cost of renovating a five-star hotel suite.

“The renovation cost for a five-star area is usually pegged at about Rp 10 million per square meter, furnishing included,” Bambang said.

The chairs alone for the Budget Committee room were reportedly imported from Germany at Rp 23 million apiece — they ordered 85 — almost half the cost of the US presidential chair at the White House in Washington.

“I think it’s a matter of perspective. People see lawmakers as public servants, but lawmakers see themselves as kings,” Bambang said.

Beyond DPR

The tendency to spend lavishly seems to be a problem not just for the national legislature.

The Jakarta City Council has also confirmed that its 2012 budget includes Rp 180 billion allocated to renovate its own offices.

As much as Rp 80 billion of this is allotted to repair the outer walls and install marble surfaces on some interior walls. The remaining Rp 100 billion will be used to build a bridge linking the building to a neighboring one.

The Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) has also criticized renovation projects at the Presidential Palace.

Uchok Sky Khadafi, the coordinator for Fitra, said that the allotment for the palace this year soared to Rp 80.5 billion, almost 10 times what it was in 2011, with funds for presidential building improvement accounting for Rp 10.7 billion.

In addition, no less than Rp 58.6 billion was set aside for new construction or expansion of the State Secretariat’s office, housing and other structures. This includes Rp 349 million to repair the office complex gate and Rp 12.3 billion for the office’s parking lot.

The State Secretariat, though, denied this. The parking lot construction was not Rp 12.3 billion, said the spokesman for the office, Sugiri, but only Rp 10.6 billion.

“This is an amount proposed by [private] consultant Cipta Karya and contractor Adhicon Persada. It already includes the consulting service fees,” he said.

He added that the amount also includes the construction of a mosque, cooperative building, and a 3,270-square-meter park above the basement area.

“The parking lot is going to be built in the basement, that’s why it’s more expensive. It is going to have two levels and can accommodate 1,000 vehicles,” Sugiri said, adding that the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) was best suited to judge the merits of the budget.

Bambang said the recent spending news was a common problem with state projects:  those involved don’t consider cost efficiencies, “as if this country will never go bankrupt,” he said.

He also pointed out that a quantity surveyor, whose job it was to check available market prices and options to get the lowest prices, was often missing in state-funded projects.

A waste of money?

Worsening the situation is a public perception that lawmakers — heavily criticized for a variety of other things ranging from laziness to blatant corruption — deserve none of these nice things.

For instance, listed in the 2012 budget is Rp 544 billion for meetings and discussions.

“This is a total waste of money,” said Uchok, whose organization revealed other controversial House expenses like the printing of about 18,000 calendars for Rp 1.3 billion.

“The budget for such meetings has swollen since these lawmakers prefer to hold their meetings outside, such as in hotels, instead of using available meeting rooms.”

This, again, raises the question of why a House meeting room was renovated at a cost several times higher than a five-star hotel.

“Looking at the level of productivity of the House, I think they only deserve three-star, at most,” Bambang joked.

House Speaker Marzuki Alie has said he is “concerned” about the situation.

“There has to be more conscientiousness [on the part of the government and lawmakers] in line with the president’s directives to reduce unnecessary expenses,” he said. “We need to [focus on] building our infrastructure to accelerate economic development.”

But as Bambang pointed out, the House still went on with its lavish spending ways despite public outcry over a proposal for a new legislative building that was ultimately canned.

“It’s like they think that we, the public, are stupid. They really have some nerve, or they’re just absurd,” Bambang added.

Eva said she hoped the public would learn from the recent spending spree.

“We have to start demanding an electoral system that is guaranteed to filter people with the right capability, capacity and integrity,”
Eva said. “Voters have to be educated, to increase public pressure toward the lawmakers to work more seriously.”

Additional reporting by Arientha Primanita