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View all search resultsPoliticians and civil servants at the House of Representatives (DPR) have refused to be held accountable for a number of extravagant renovation projects at the House building, but have happily pointed their fingers at others
oliticians and civil servants at the House of Representatives (DPR) have refused to be held accountable for a number of extravagant renovation projects at the House building, but have happily pointed their fingers at others.
The House’s committee in charge of household affairs (BURT) on Tuesday refused to be held responsible for the Rp 20.3 billion (US$2.24 million) renovation of a meeting room, saying the project carried out by the House’s Secretariat General had won approval from the lawmakers and the government.
“The project — renovation of an old meeting hall into a fancy room — was really a collective decision,” BURT member Pius Lustrilanang said in a press conference here on Tuesday.
Pius said that the renovation was only one of many projects approved at a BURT plenary session attended by officials from the House’s Secretariat General and the Finance Ministry in Kopo, Bogor, on July 22, 2011.
He said the funds were taken from the Rp 800 billion earlier allocated for the construction of a new wing for the House building and Rp 282.2 billion from the House’s 2011 budget.
Pius argued that BURT simply acted as a bridge between the House’s Budget Committee and the Secretariat General.
“BURT receives a proposal from the budget committee that the latter is in need of a standard meeting room and then conveys the proposal to the Secretariat General which is responsible for maintenance in the House,” he said.
The development and renovation projects, procurement and programs were leaked to the public when the media and activists questioned the Rp 20.3 billion luxurious building for the House’s budget committee.
The meeting room was made available by renovating an old building in the back of the Nusantara II Hall at the House compound and procuring a modern sound system and 150 chairs purchased from Germany for Rp 24 million each. The chairs can be found on the domestic market for Rp 9.1 million each.
House Secretary-General Nining Indra Saleh declined to take responsibility for the projects, which she said had been decided by BURT. “We have to execute what has been decided by BURT,” she said, adding that her side had taken a part of the funds from the 2011 revised state budget without any approval from the House speaker.
BURT chairman Melchias Mekeng blamed the Secretariat General for splashing out on the luxurious meeting room, saying his committee had only wanted a “decent” meeting room, and that the sound system at that time did not work well and that many chairs were damaged.
Meanwhile, Pius’ party Gerindra considered recalling Pius following the controversy. The party never supported the construction of new luxurious buildings at the House.
“We are still doing a comprehensive evaluation and its result will be used as a reference on whether to recall him [Pius] or not,” Gerindra secretary-general Ahmad Muzani said.
Separately, chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction Puan Maharani said the House had never conveyed any projects to its plenary sessions for approval and that her party had opposed major projects and luxurious facilities that could hurt the people’s sense of justice.
“I am still seeking clarification from the PDI-P representative at the House leadership and its lawmakers at BURT and the budget committee to find out what is happening with the projects,” she said.
Meanwhile, the House’s Honor Council recommended that the project’s consulting company lower the project’s value to Rp 13 billion because the renovation project was too costly.
The honor council’s main task is to investigate violations of the House’s code of ethics committed by lawmakers and to not downgrade the value of such projects. (msa)
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