T

he House of Representatives is once more in the spotlight for requesting special privileges abroad after a letter written by the House secretariat general implicating Deputy Speaker Fadli Zon went viral.

The letter, addressed to the Indonesian consul general in New York and the Indonesian ambassador in Washington, stated that Fadli’s daughter, Shafa Sabila Fadli, was to visit New York and requested she be provided with transportation and companionship.

According to the letter, Shafa is scheduled to be in New York from June 12 to July 12 for Stagedoor Manor 2016, a performing arts summer camp.

Upon the letter being made public, Fadli immediately claimed that he knew nothing about the request and repaid the money spent on his daughter by the consulate general.

“I only told my aide to report to the consulate general that my daughter would be [in New York], as is compulsory for any Indonesian going abroad. I don’t know why the secretariat general sent the letter,” the Gerindra Party politician insisted on Tuesday.

The consulate general in New York confirmed in a press release that it had received the request from the House secretariat general, but given budget constraints had only been able to provide a car to pick Shafa up at the airport.

The lack of funds led the consulate general to decline the request to accompany Shafa to the camp, which is located some 200 kilometers outside the city.

Later in the afternoon, Fadli issued a letter addressed to Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, using his personal letterhead as a House deputy speaker, saying he had repaid the Rp 2 million (US$152) in transportation fees to the consulate general

The letter estimates that the consulate general spent around Rp 1.33 ($101) million on fuel, while the remaining amount was to serve as a tip for the driver who drove Shafa from John F. Kennedy International Airport to an Indonesian friend’s house in Queens, about 13 kilometers from the airport, on June 12.

“I apologize to the public for the misunderstanding,” Fadli wrote.

Letters requesting special treatment for colleagues and family members of state dignitaries traveling abroad are nothing new for lawmakers.

Previously, another Gerindra Party politician, Rachel Maryam, sent a letter requesting the Indonesian ambassador to France provide facilities for her and six family members in Paris in March.

Rachel admitted to writing the letter, but claimed that she had only requested that the Indonesian Embassy in France provide transportation during her stay.

Rachel later insisted she had used her personal funds for the chartered transport provided with the help of the embassy.

Special requests are also made by others in government.

A letter requesting that the Indonesian Consulate General in Sydney, Australia, provide various forms of assistance, including transportation and accommodation, for Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Yuddy Chrisnandi’s “colleague” Wahyu Dewanto and his family in Sydney and the Gold Coast went viral on social media in March.

Wahyu, a businessman and Jakarta city councillor, is a member of the Hanura Party — the same party as Yuddy.

Lawmakers and officials have furthermore often been the target of criticism during their visits abroad, both for personal and official purposes, for their extravagant demands, which have stretched the already thin budgets of Indonesian missions abroad.