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lthough the government is still reviewing the House of Representatives'€™ controversial constituency fund plan, it has pressed ahead with plans to increase funding for political parties.

Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said that he had officially submitted a request for an increase in annual funding for political parties to President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo.

Tjahjo said that the proposal to raise the current party funding, which sits at Rp 108 (0.8 US cents) per valid vote for each party each year, could be seen as a way to bring in more money to political parties to help politicians carry out programs in a more accountable way.

He said that the proposal would be to add a 10 to 20 percent increase to the current amount granted to each political party annually.

'€œWe do hope that our proposal will not compromise government programs for education, health or infrastructure. We will wait for discussions [with President Jokowi] later,'€ Tjahjo said.

State funds are one of three legitimate financial resources for political parties as stipulated in a 2011 law.

The law also mandates that state funding is given to each political party based on the number of votes it secures in a legislative election.

After the 2009 general election, the Home Ministry issued a regulation granting each party Rp 108 in state funding per valid vote per year.

Under the current scheme, the state has allocated a total of Rp 13.17 billion ($1.03 million) to finance the 10 political parties that secured positions in the legislative institution in last years election.

As the winner of the 2014 legislative election, for example, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) gets around Rp 2.55 billion for the 23.8 million votes it secured in last year'€™s election that translated into the majority 109 seats that the PDI-P has in the House.

Despite strong objections from three political party factions in the ruling coalition, the House of Representatives passed a legislative bill that provided legal basis for allowing lawmakers to make use of a total of Rp 11.2 trillion in so-called constituency funds in a recent plenary session.

State Secretary Pratikno hinted on Thursday that President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo would not give his approval to the constituency fund plan, citing the country'€™s current economic slowdown.

'€œThe President expects all members to direct their concerns toward the condition of the people [who are affected by the economic downturn] and to be judicious in their use of the state budget and to ensure it is spent as efficiently as possible,'€ Pratikno said.

He said that the government could not foot the bill if the new spending scheme sat outside of existing programs.

Earlier that day, presidential communications team member Teten Masduki, however, said Jokowi would first consult the finance minister on the constituency funds issue.

'€œThe President will first ask for input from the finance minister,'€ said Teten.

However, both Pratikno and Teten declined to comment on Tjahjo'€™s proposal.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla was reportedly quoted as saying that an increase was right given the Rp 108 amount was set six years ago.

Political observer Yunarto Wijaya, however, said Tjahjo'€™s proposal had potential to do good.

The political party funds, he said, could provide parties with better funding, thus preventing them from resorting to illicit practices.