Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati watches as
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono submits his tax return.
Amid mounting public criticism over a plan for a new office building worth Rp 1.8 trillion ($200 million) for lawmakers, House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie said on Monday that he had ordered a review of the design to cut costs.
“I’ve ordered the House Secretariat to review the design and make another one along with the details,” said Marzuki, from the ruling Democratic Party.
He said the Rp 18 million price tag per square meter of the building was “too expensive.”
The plan was first hatched under the previous House headed by Speaker Agung Laksono, from Golkar, which ended its tenure last year.
Marzuki also questioned the reasons put forward by Golkar lawmakers Priyo Budi Santoso, who is also deputy House speaker, and Harry Azhar Azis, who chairs the House Budget Committee, who said the current building had cracks and was tilting by as much as seven degrees.
He said a new building was needed because the current occupancy of 2,500 people was more than triple the 800 people the place had been designed for in the 1960s, as lawmakers now each had at least five assistants and advisers working for them.
“We need staff because we want lawmakers to produce high-quality legislation to give the most benefit to the people,” he said. “That’s why we need the new building.”
People’s Conscience Party (Hanura) House chairman Abdilla Fauzi Achmad said the House leadership must guarantee transparency of the budget for the building. “For us, the technical specifications and procurement of material for the building must be made clear.”
Democrat legislator Roy Suryo said: “Our top priority with this building is still the people’s interests, not ours.”
