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Don’t make us get nothing: Speaker on Jakarta councilors’ allowance increase
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The Jakarta Council assembles at the council building in Central Jakarta for a plenary meeting. (kompas.com/Nursita Sari )
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mid the contentious debate on the prospective allowance increase for Jakarta councilors, criticized for their sluggish performance, City Council speaker Prasetyo Edi Marsudi has defended the cause, saying that it is a form of appreciation for their hard work.
“Don’t make us get nothing, we have worked hard by, among other things, producing bylaws,” Prasetio said at City Hall on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.
Prasetio, a politician from the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said that city councilors deserved an allowance increase as stipulated in a 2017 Government Regulation on financial and administration authority of regional council leaders and members.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo signed the regulation on June 2. The regulation allows all councilors and regional administrations to issue a bylaw regulating the former’s allowance increase.
In an ongoing deliberation of the bylaw, all factions at the council have agreed on the need to increase their allowance, which is currently considered among the highest in the country.
The council speakers currently receive around Rp 95 million (US$7,125) per month, while members receive around Rp 75 million per month.
The councilors’ high hopes for passing the salary increase bylaw comes in contrast to their performance. Of the 32 draft bylaws listed in this year’s city legislation program (Prolegda), the City Council has passed just two to the Home Affairs Ministry, which aim at regulating Jakarta’s libraries and archives. (fac)
