Paper Edition | Page: 8
Sept. 14, Online
Although already receiving a huge wave of public criticism against its foreign trips, the House of Representatives has now requested a 77 percent budget increase for journeys to 38 countries in 2013, taking the budget to more than Rp 248 billion (US$25.48 million). The House was given Rp 139.94 billion for trips in 2012.
The issue is currently being discussed with the government for inclusion in the 2013 state budget draft.
“The ears of our politicians in Senayan [location of the House building] are insensitive to criticism,” Indonesia Budget Center (IBC) analyst Roy Salam said on Friday as quoted by kompas.com. Roy criticized comments from some House members who have compared their budget allocation to the funds allocated to ministerial trips, saying the House should have also monitored its foreign trips.
Your comments:
How can the House members say that leisure trips don’t hurt people who don’t have access to food?
Muncur F Sinaga
What they cannot steal through corrupt procurement deals they still want to get through so-called foreign “study” tours to compare how policies are developed and implemented in other countries.
Most such information is freely available on the Internet but I guess that many a representative is computer illiterate.
Why do these representatives use the funds to better understand and implement better ways and means of developing their constituencies; half our population is classified as poor with many not having the means to eat two meals a day.
Henry Manoe
I am sick of these kinds of people. I think their brains are full of water or stones. No matter what you tell them, they will keep going. They will never, ever listen to what people say.
They have no heart, no feeling and even no brain at all. They don’t really care about the people they represent. Never expect too much from the House or you will find yourself being greatly disappointed. If you want to change your country, start from you, your family and your surroundings.
Tanto
House members are really insensitive. It is better for them to build a worldwide connected library than to conduct foreign trips. What a shame.
Dess
House members demand such a huge amount of cash to finance trips abroad. And they certainly take their love ones when they travel.
Did they ever report that they have been using these expenses when they travel abroad?
I have never seen any country that spends such a huge amount of people’s money on studying and comparing foreign countries.
If they want to improve the law, why don’t they just listen to what people have to say?
They are said to work for the best of the people. When they were on their “comparative study tours” to Australia, the Australian parliament was out of session. Plus, the delegation spoke very bad English.
When visiting Germany, they were met by students and were told that their “comparative study” was nothing less but an entertainment tour.
If House Speaker Marzuki Alie thinks these criticisms were unfair, then he has to tell people what good these trips have given to the country!
Why do they hold comparative studies every year and spend such huge amounts of cash while people need to improve their standards of living here? Does Marzuki ever calculate how much the House has been using for these trips?
This must be some kind of very funny, stupid joke.
Widya Utama
