Allowance To Replace Houses For People's Representatives Makes It Melt

Photo Illustration Andry Winarko

JAKARTA - The DPR for the 2024-2029 period was officially inaugurated last October 1. Unfortunately, it has not yet worked according to the main task force, the DPR has actually created a policy that has sparked controversy in the public. One of them is the provision of allowances as a substitute for the Office of Members or RJA, which in nominally only makes the head shake, Rp50 million per member.

This policy is strongest after the issuance of the Circular Letter of the Secretariat General of the DPR Number B/733/RT.01/09/2024 which was signed by the Secretary General of the DPR Indra Iskandar on September 25, 2024. The contents of the SE stated that members of the DPR 2024-2029 would be given housing allowances and no housing facilities for members.

This Rp50 million housing allowance will later be included in the salary component received every month. Even though without official housing allowances, each member of the DPR can pocket more than Rp50 million per month, ranging from wife allowances to credit facilities. This has been regulated in a Government Regulation on the Basic Salaries of State High Institutional Leaders.

According to Indra, this policy is the result of the decision of the DPR leadership meeting, the leadership of the DPR factions, and the Secretariat General of the DPR on September 24, 2024. This means that members of the 2019-2024 DPR, whether re-elected or not, are asked to immediately hand over the official house they use to the Secretariat General of the DPR.

He reasoned that the condition of the official house of members of the DPR in Kalibata, South Jakarta was severe and did not deserve to be inhabited by the people's representatives. Mostly, the house structure drops so that there are many cracks on the walls. In addition, these official houses often flood when the rainy season arrives. Therefore, renovating RJA with conditions like today is considered non-economic, especially since the budget from the Ministry of Finance is relatively small and not sufficient to maintain all needs such as physical buildings, environment, waterways, electricity networks, and others.

Indra admitted that around 45 percent of the total 596 houses in the RJA DPR RI Complex, Kalibata, Jakarta, were still in a habitable condition. However, complaints from residents regarding various problems continue to emerge. The complaint system related to this official residence is accommodated through the Perjaka application (Treatment of the Kalibata Office), which allows residents to report damage or discomfort to the houses they live in.

"The condition of the house in the DPR RJA varies widely. If a classification is made, there are houses that are still in good condition, some are not good, and some are in quite good condition," he said at a press conference, October 7, 2024.

However, this reason is considered not fundamental in order to provide house allowances for all members of the DPR. City Administration Observer, Nirwono Yoga stated, providing allowances is not an effective step because not everyone needs an official residence. According to him, it would be wiser if the existing houses were repaired for use by DPR members who really needed them.

"From the funds budgeted, it is better for the houses to be tidied up, refined according to their core standards. And most importantly, of all members of the DPR, make sure how many people need official housing," said Yoga, Sunday, October 13, 2024.

He emphasized that official houses should be prioritized for members of the DPR who come from outside Jakarta and do not have a home. Meanwhile, council members who already have a house in Jakarta do not need this facility. If the council members still receive allowances, they should not be given to members who already have a luxury house.

In addition, allowances do not need to be given to the members of the council who are one family. For example, a husband and wife couple who are both members of the council, of course they live under one roof, so there is no need for each to receive an allowance.

"Just imagine, husband and wife (DPR members) get benefits, not to mention if there are children who are also members of the council, the rations are double, even triple. Even though one house lives there all of them. It's even more unfair if the obligation of one member is reduced by the obligation of one member for Rp. 50 million per month," Yoga said.

The Housing Allowance Of Members Of The DPR Is Ironic When People Are Difficult To Access Decent Housing

The Research Manager of the Indonesian Forum National Secretariat for Budget Transparency (FITRA), Badiul Hadi revealed, if each member of the DPR receives an official housing allowance of Rp. 50 million per month, then in one year receives Rp. 600 million. If you take full office for five years, each member of the DPR RI reaches Rp. 3 billion. Whereas the total number of members of the DPR RI is 580 people. The total cost to be paid for the official housing allowance for all members of the DPR reaches Rp. 1.740 trillion.

He emphasized that apart from burdening state finances, as parties claiming to be representatives of the people, members of the DPR should show and prove their empathy for the public. This is because there are still millions of residents or their constituents who still do not have housing.

BPS data shows 9.9 million Indonesians who still do not have a home. Now, we demand that empathy, why not then take advantage of the existing member's office, then the budget planner is used for budget allocations that favor people who do not have a house," said Badiul.

Researcher of The Indonesian Institute (TII), Felia Primaresti added, the DPR's policy on providing home allowances shows an irony in contrast to the people's conditions. This is because the government itself is still facing large homework to meet the needs of people's housing, with a shortage of nearly 10 million housing units.

He explained, from data from the Ministry of PUPR last year, the number of backlogs or lack of residential ownership in Indonesia reached 9.9 million households and the backlog of Uninhabitable Houses reached 26.9 million houses. Uninhabitable houses are categorized as houses with inadequate building quality, overcrowded, poor sanitation and inadequate access to drinking water.

"On the one hand, there is a policy that prioritizes comfort for DPR members, with luxury housing rental allowances, and salaries and other benefits that are more than sufficient but with performance and commitments that are still polemic, on the other hand, the people still have difficulty getting access to decent housing," said Felia.

Meanwhile, a member of the DPR for the 2024-2029 period, Herman Khaeron admitted, although it is always renovated every period, the current condition of RJA is considered uninhabitable, especially to support the performance of DPR members. I have repeatedly also lived in Kalibata, for example. The condition of the house has always been leaked and even recently there have been many termites. This means that it seems that the treatment is very high, and this must be calculated properly," he added.

According to him, housing allowances will also be a solution for members of the DPR who have a long house. Because, they can rent a residence close to Senayan. Is continuing the occupants of the official residence or is it indeed converted once again with a realistic proper value according to their territory," said Herman.

Property observer Steve Sudijanto also considers that home facilities are better in the form of allowances so that council members can rent houses according to their tastes. This is expected to boost their performance and productivity as members of the DPR.

If given an official house it is not necessarily according to the taste of a member of the DPR. Usually, if it is according to taste then there will be comfort that can be directly proportional to performance. The most important thing is that there is responsibility. First, the form of the house exists, the two receipts exist, the third is indeed supporting for his position and education," he explained.