Camelia Pasandaran – A government watchdog is claiming that the government is spending too much money – at least $4.7 million to inaugurate new members of the House of Representatives and the Regional Representatives Council.

Roy Salam, a researcher at the Indonesian Budget Center, said that there was no reason to source money for the Oct. 1 inauguration from three different institutions, saying that the General Elections Commission (KPU) should simply pick up the tab by itself.

The KPU has set aside Rp 11 billion ($1.1 million) to swear in 560 lawmakers. The House has also allocated an additional Rp 28.5 billion for the event, while the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) has set aside Rp 6.5 billion.

The House inauguration budget, which covers all of the legislators' costs, includes Rp 2 million in pocket money for each lawmaker to spend as he or she saw fit.

Roy said the KPU had set aside enough to cover all of the necessary expenses, however. "The House and the DPD should not provide funds for the inauguration," he said.

"They should return this money to the state. The inauguration should be handled by the KPU, not the House, because these new lawmakers are not yet House members – this is part of the election process."

The IBC said that even the KPU budget of Rp 11 billion was excessive.

According to the center's calculations, costs such as hotels, bus rentals, clothing, bags and additional spending money would account for just 29 percent of the total amount of money that has been allocated.

Roy said that once all of the necessary costs for the inauguration had been calculated, an additional Rp 6.2 billion was still left over with no discernible purpose. He said it was clear that the KPU had set aside more than enough money to help new lawmakers move to Jakarta.

Roy was also critical of other items included in the KPU's inauguration budget, which he said breached Finance Ministry regulations on state funding.

"They have allocated too much," he said. "For hotel expenses alone, the KPU has allocated more than the maximum allowable budget."

He also said that because the incoming legislators were still not officially House members, it would be unwise to provide them with pocket money. "It can be dropped from the budget because the KPU has covered all of their spending needs," he said.

"Or the KPU could reduce the amount to Rp 150,000 a day, the same amount that House members are given to cover costs if they have to travel to visit their constituencies."

But Suripto Bambang Setiadi, the secretary general of the KPU, said that the amount of funding set aside for the inauguration was within reason.

"It's our obligation to cover all of the expenses of the new House members for their orientation and inauguration," Bambang said. "This is part of their job."

KPU member Abdul Aziz said he did not know if there was overlap. "What we need to do is our part, not that of other institutions," he said. "It is not our obligation to coordinate budgets with other institutions."

Nining Indra Saleh, who chairs the House's general secretariat, declined to comment on the matter.