The member of the House'€™s Commission II overseeing regional autonomy said the fund would further tarnish the image of the House, which was perceived negatively by most of the public.

Under the plan, House lawmakers will receive an additional budget of Rp 20 billion (US$1.5 million) to help them develop their respective electorates.

The House'€™s budget committee earlier said the aspiration fund plan would likely be included in the 2016 State Budget.

Budiman said that among the reasons why he considered the aspiration fund "too far fetched" was that there was no solid support for the plan to channel such a huge amount of money to all of the House members. Their duties, after all, were primarily focused on "legislation" instead of developing their respective electorates.

Another reason was that with the fund, the performances of House members would be measured only on how they spent the money, and this could be very subjective.

Budiman said he was uncertain that House members would be able to carry out their duties well, even without the Rp 20 billion in aspiration funds. Instead of developing their respective electorates, the House members should focus their attention to producing laws that could benefit Indonesian people in the long run.

'€œThe aspiration fund plan has shown it has tainted hearts and minds of the House members, and will further shift the opinion of the public,'€ said Budiman.

'€œEven though some House members work genuinely for the people, there is concern about how the public would see this plan. The needs of the public cannot be fulfilled merely with Rp 20 billion, but through the projects their representatives have carried out for them,'€ he said. (ebf)(+++)

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