Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The controversy over the payment of "incentives" to legislators during the deliberation of the Aceh governance bill is causing tension in the House of Representatives.

Home Minister M. Ma'ruf has admitted to paying Rp 5 million (about US$550) to each House member deliberating the bill as a special "incentive" to speed up the process.

The controversy over the payments broke when some lawmakers refused the money because they doubted its legality. Ma'ruf said the money was part of a Rp 1.6 billion (about US$177,000) fund the government had allocated specially for the Aceh bill deliberations.

But Ma'ruf's critics say the money is unnecessary because House members are already paid to make laws. They suspect the payments are being used to bribe lawmakers to favor the government version of the draft bill and to disregard the one proposed by the Aceh provincial legislative council. Giving lawmakers honorarium is a practice that is common in the House.

House Disciplinary Council chairman Slamet Effendy Yusuf has said he "regretted" the payments and has called on the Anti-corruption Commission (KPK) to investigate.

The differences among lawmakers over the payments were made public by Permadi, a legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). After the controversy became public, some House members gave back the money.

The PDI-P is the only political faction in the House of Representatives, which was against the government's policy to sign last year's peace agreement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). Members distrust GAM and fear the accord will only strengthen GAM's bargaining position in its eventual push for Aceh independence from Indonesia.

Ma'ruf said on Tuesday the Rp 1.6 billion fund was meant as an "incentive" to speed up the deliberations of the bill, which was originally scheduled to be endorsed in March. The House allocated Rp 500 million for deliberation of each bill this year.

Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, the chairman of the House's 50-member special committee assigned to finalize the bill with the government, insisted the payments from the government were legal. "I'm responsible for the fund. It's origin and accountability are all clear. It's all right if people relinquish the money – we will give the money back to the government," Ferry said.

Deputy chairman of the deliberating committee, Radja Kami Sembiring Meliala, claimed he knew nothing about the origin of the money. "We all received the fund but it will not effect our respective stances on the bill," he said.

The bill is expected to be endorsed next month. It will become the legal basis for Aceh's first direct elections tentatively scheduled for September.