Lawmakers: Freedom!! Prosperity!! Board reads "structural poverty".
The House of Representatives (DPR) is facing widespread public anger over a 50 million rupiah (US$3,067) monthly housing allowance for each lawmaker which analysts say is out of touch with the economic hardships faced by most ordinary Indonesians.
The benefit amounts to nearly ten times the highest regional minimum wage and up to twenty times the monthly minimum wage in poorer districts. In addition to the housing allowance, lawmakers also receive a fixed salary and other perks that can push their total monthly compensation to above 100 million rupiah (US$6,134).
"An income package of up to 100 million rupiah per month deeply hurts the public's sense of fairness", public policy expert Achmad Nur Hidayat was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Globe. "Just for housing allowances alone, covering 575 lawmakers over a five-year term, the state must spend 1.73 trillion rupiah [US$106 million]", he added.
The DPR has for years been criticised for its poor legislative performance, failure to listen to its constituents and a seemly endless series of corruption scandals.
Hidayat argues that such generous compensation should be matched by improved performance but instead, he said, parliament's credibility has eroded.
"Recent surveys show the DPR and MPR [People's Consultative Assembly] as the least trusted institutions", he noted, adding that over the past year lawmakers have yet to produce any high-quality laws that defend the public interests.
The benefits also stand out in comparison with regional peers. In Malaysia members of parliament earn about US$3,400 a month including allowances but housing support is modest and generally reserved for ministers.
In the Philippines, legislators receive salaries of around U$4,700 a month supplemented by allowances, but housing benefits are not provided on the same scale.
In Singapore, where lawmakers receive some of the highest salaries in the world, MPs earn about US$141,000 annually although this is tied to the city-state's high cost of living and accountability benchmarks.
Indonesia's 50 million rupiah housing allowance therefore, appears unusually generous relative to its economic base and income disparities.
Responding to the criticism, DPR Secretary-General Indra Iskandar explained that the 50 million rupiah monthly housing allowance was introduced because lawmakers in the 2024-2029 term do not receive official housing.
DPR Deputy Speaker Adies Kadir also defended the figure calling it reasonable given market conditions. He claimed rental prices in neighbourhoods near the DPR complex can reach over 70 million rupiah per month, forcing lawmakers to top up the difference from their own pockets.
"I think 50 million rupiah per month makes sense for lawmakers. Leaders of the DPR do not receive the allowance because they are already provided with official residences", Kadir said.
[Based on an August 20 article by the Jakarta Globe titled "Indonesian lawmakers $3,000 housing allowance sparks public outrage".]
