The leader of a team behind the design of a proposed new office for the House of Representatives has warned against changing the design, despite an earlier call by the House leadership to revise it.
The House has come under scathing criticism for its plan to spend Rp 1.6 trillion ($177.6 million) on the office building, which designers said would feature an entire floor dedicated to a swimming pool, sauna and gym, as well as 120-square-meter office suites for each of the 560 legislators.
In the face of the outcry, House Speaker Marzuki Alie on Monday called for the project to be postponed to allow a review of the plan and to revise its cost, including looking at the possibility of providing smaller office suites.
On Tuesday, however, Mardian Umar, from the House Secretariat and the leader of the technical team overseeing the project, said the planned review would not necessarily lead to any changes in the design.
He added the current design had been drawn up “after deep technical research over a period of several years.”
“If the design is changed, then all the work we did all those years will have been in vain,” he said.
He said the review would only be directed at proposed facilities within the building, such as the pool, sauna and gym.
Mardian also refuted Marzuki’s proposal that the office suites be made smaller, saying the Public Works Ministry had initially proposed making each suite 190 square meters.
“In the current design, each legislator will get a 40-square-meter office, 20 square meters for a toilet, prayer room and bedroom, and the rest will be for their five assistants and advisers,” he said.
Mardian added it was important that the new building be approved and constructed as soon as possible, saying the current building was “already overcrowded.”
“A big earthquake could severely damage it,” he said.
“We don’t want a big tragedy like that befalling legislators.”
Separately on Tuesday, Marzuki vowed to strictly monitor the tender and construction stages of the project.
His statement came in response to speculation that Mardian was pushing for the approval of the current design because of pressure from contractors.
“The House leadership agrees that the project must be postponed pending the review, so if a House Secretariat official insists in pushing ahead with it, he must be prepared to face the consequences,” Marzuki said.
Deputy House Speaker Taufik Kurniawan, from the National Mandate Party (PAN), also said there were “certain groups that are angry” with the decision to put the project on hold.
He added he had heard rumors of “some officials being rewarded” to lobby for the project to continue, but declined to name them.
“That’s part of why we stopped the project — to find who these players are,” Taufik said.
“I think we may let the KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission] supervise this project.”
Meanwhile, the opposition Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) announced on Monday that it would file an official request calling for the project to be canceled altogether — in stark contrast to the insistence in recent weeks by Gerindra legislator Pius Lustrilanang that the plan should go ahead.
Pius serves as deputy chairman of the legislature’s Household Affairs Committee, which first aired the plan.
On Monday, Gerindra secretary general Ahmad Muzani said it would be futile to build the new office while the outcome of an ongoing national debate could make the building redundant.
“Our request for a cancelation comes amid a proposal to move the nation’s capital city,” he said.
“Pending a conclusion to that debate, we feel it would be better to redirect the funds proposed for the new office building toward new programs to fight poverty instead,” Ahmad added.
The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), part of the ruling coalition, has also called on the government to finalize its decision on whether to move the capital before construction of the new building starts.
Mustafa Kamal, the House chairman of the PKS, said the party had sent a letter urging the House leadership to discuss the issue with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
“This is important because we don’t want to spend Rp 1.6 trillion here and then end up having to move to a different city,” he said.
Teguh Juwarno, the deputy chairman of House Commission II overseeing domestic affairs, and one of the main proponents of moving the capital, said recently that he opposed the new building for legislators.
President Yudhoyono has also said the idea warrants further discussion. On Sunday, he called on his cabinet to discuss the issue, Velix Wanggai, his special adviser for regional development and autonomy, said in a press release.
“The president hopes for intense consolidation between ministries and public institutions on an integrated study to move the capital,” he said.
Yudhoyono also raised the issue last Friday at an event with leaders of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Teguh told that the president’s seeming interest in the move indicated that the idea was catching on.
“We should push this discussion further,” he said.
“The House could establish a special committee to look into the feasibility of a move.”
