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The speaker of the House of Representatives, Marzuki Alie, last week farcically preached that a recent creepy-crawly invasion was a “warning from God” to the Indonesian people that they “should introspect and make changes.”

Even if the caterpillar swarms making their way across Java and Bali are a celestial message, like the biblical 10 plagues of Egypt, it’s more likely that the Big Man is trying to talk some sense into the country’s lawmakers.

Politicians who make it into the legislature appear to believe that their Senayan compound is a modern version of Mount Olympus, the home of the Greek gods. Legislators talk and act like they’re far superior to the rest of us.

Do you remember what Marzuki said in response to claims that most people did not approve of the House’s plan to build a fancy-schmancy new office building? “Only elites can discuss this … regular people should not be involved,” he said, not long after dismissing the right of NGOs to speak on behalf of the people, suggesting that only lawmakers had that prerogative.

The people may not have the expertise to delve into the political, financial or technical discussions about the new House building. But as the nation’s main stakeholders — who not only directly elect politicians, but also pay the taxes used to pay their salaries — the people reserve the right to say “no” to such a wasteful project.

The brusque Marzuki also said it was not good for the nation to debate and discuss such issues. And this is coming from a politician from the ruling Democratic Party.

The case of Arifinto, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) legislator who was caught red-handed watching a pornographic video during a House plenary session, stands as another salient example.

Following Arifinto’s resignation, Mustafa Kamal, the leader of the PKS in the House, praised the porn-watching legislator for setting “a good example” and “building a new political culture” in terms of accountability.

Resigning, after being caught doing something immoral, is not something to be proud of. To say that his resignation is a sign of some new political culture just shows how broken things are right now.

Then there are figures such as the vexatious Golkar lawmaker Nudirman Munir, who, during a House plenary session, insensitively asserted that politicians shouldn’t be compared to the poor, who live in “scruffy shacks,” insinuating that they’re entitled to a luxury office.

Nudirman’s ill-conceived comparison suggests he believes that lawmakers, who are already richer than the vast majority of people in this country, are divine creatures who deserve much greater comfort than the poor. And this is coming from the deputy chairman of the House Ethics Council. For shame.

Looking at the legislature’s subpar performance, it is extremely difficult to believe there would be a positive correlation between a shiny new office building and improved performance. Contrarily, there is the stark reality that the money they want to use on their lavish building could be used to greatly improve the lives of those people living in “scruffy shacks.”

When it comes to disappointing the people, however, actions speak louder than words, and these lawmakers have been hurting the people badly.

While the controversy over the planned office building continues to rage, the House once again made our blood boil with its proposal to double the 2012 budget for bill deliberations to Rp 541.2 billion ($62 million), up from this year’s Rp 301.7 billion.

The huge increase would see lawmakers get even more money for their ridiculously unnecessary overseas trips for “comparative studies,” despite watchdogs and the public time and again denouncing these trips as nothing more than taxpayer-funded tourist junkets.

Ignatius Mulyono, chairman of the House Legislation Body, said the proposal aimed to increase the budget from Rp 1.7 billion to Rp 3.4 billion for the “deliberation” of every single piece of legislation, which means lawmakers would get to fly around in business class and not have to share rooms in their expensive hotels.

Furthermore, the lawmakers’ demand for a new office tower is not unlike the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, where Noah’s descendants arrogantly attempted to build a sky-high city so they could brag about living closer to God.

Instead of representing the people, it seems that our lawmakers are busy building up their own fame, wealth and worldly privileges, raising them high above the people, to the point where the poor look like nothing but ants scurrying about far below.

But in the Bible, God punished their hubris by preventing the tower from ever being completed.

So, like the wise Marzuki suggests, is God trying to say something through these itch-inducing caterpillars?