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More political parties slam House's grand library construction plan
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A lawmaker attends a plenary meeting to pass the Disability Law at the House of Representatives complex on March 17. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A.)
M
ore political party factions at the House of Representatives are expressing opposition to the House speaker's costly new library construction plan, saying such a project is unnecessary in the country's current economic situation.
The ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Golkar Party joined the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), NasDem and the People's Conscience Party (Hanura) in rejecting the ambitious plan.
House Speaker Ade Komarudin revealed last week a plan to build Southeast Asia's biggest library using funds from the state budget.
The library plan, which would cost Rp 570 billion (US$42.69 million), could be postponed because of a state deficit of almost Rp 300 trillion, PDI-P faction deputy chairman Hendrawan Supratikno said.
"Both of the government and the House must focus on the spending priorities. The ones that are highly prioritized should come first," he told journalists on on Tuesday.
PAN faction secretary Yandri Susanto suggested that the money for the construction plan could be used instead for public facilities for the betterment of the people.
Speaker Ade pushed for the planning for the library to start the immediately, arguing it would be beneficial to meet the needs of intellectuals.
The design would imitate that of the US Library of Congress and the funds would be taken from this year's budget, Ade said.
He insisted that it is of high importance for the House to build the biggest library in Southeast Asia that would accommodate up to 600,000 books to compete with the Singapore's National Library, which has 500,000 books.
The Gerindra, NasDem and Hanura factions expressed their disagreement with the plan on Monday, when they said they believed the House would be able to work without a new library, especially in the current unfavorable economic conditions. (rin)
