W

hen it comes to peak hours at the Senayan legislative complex in Central Jakarta, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmaker Charles Honoris prefers to avoid the long queue in front of the elevators, favoring the emergency stairs to leave or to get to his office, which is located on the eighth floor of the House of Representatives'€™ 23-story Nusantara I building.

'€œEven if there is no queue, it still takes me between 15 to 20 minutes to leave or reach my office through the elevators since the elevators move so slowly. Sometimes, some of them also don'€™t work due to technical problems,'€ Charles told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Starting his first term as lawmaker in October last year, Charles also found it difficult to provide enough workspace for his five expert staff in his 45-square-meter office.

'€œMy office has been divided into two rooms: one for me and one for my expert staff. The latter, however, is too small even to accommodate three people. I think it is inhuman,'€ the 30-year-old politician said, adding that some of his staff members preferred to work in the PDI-P faction office, located on another floor of the same building.

Situated on a 30-hectare plot of land, the Senayan legislative compound is undoubtedly one of the most prominent political landmarks in the country.

Among the eight main buildings in the compound, the Nusantara I building is the tallest and the busiest, as it serves as the center of activities for 560 lawmakers and thousands of supporting staff.

During the past several years, lawmakers, however, have complained about the poor work environment, mainly attributing the problem to overcrowding .

According to United Development Party (PPP) lawmaker Asrul Sani, several lawmakers have blamed their poor legislative performances on the subpar facilities.

'€œThey will say '€˜I can'€™t work conveniently due to limited facilities [in the House]'€™,'€ he said.

In 2011, the House, under the leadership of Democratic Party lawmaker Marzuki Alie, floated the idea of constructing a new legislative building worth Rp 1.16 trillion (US$89.1 million). The plan, however, was canceled due to public criticism.

A similar plan, however, recently reemerged after House Speaker Setya Novanto said President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo had approved a budget for the construction of a new multi-story building in the legislative complex.

'€œThe President will sign a commitment for the construction of a '€˜national icon'€™ and join the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the national icon,'€ Setya said in a speech delivered in a plenary session to wrap up the current sitting session late Friday.

House Deputy Speaker Agus Hermanto denied the new building would provide additional work space for lawmakers, saying the building would be used as a museum and a House library.

On Monday, Vice President Jusuf Kalla also clarified Setya'€™s statement, saying President Jokowi had never given written approval for the construction project.

Despite the uncertain future of the construction plan, Democratic Party lawmaker Didik Mukriyanto said the establishment of more public space in the House complex, for example a museum and a library, was necessary.

'€œThe House must open up itself to the public, providing any information needed by the public. The establishment of a public library, for example, would put the House closer to the public,'€ he said.

After seven months in office the House has managed to pass just three laws. Only one was passed during its third sitting period, the 2015 Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law.

While acknowledging the relationship between a comfortable work environment and productivity, University of Indonesia social psychology expert Amarina Ariyanto said lawmakers could still improve their work performance by optimizing the use of existing House infrastructure.

'€œLawmakers, for example, could propose the use of common rooms, in which expert staff from all House factions can meet, or do other activities that follow a certain schedule,'€ she said.