Nurfika Osman - A number of senior members of the government, including cabinet ministers, no longer have to endure the ignominy of being driven around in a humble Toyota Camry.
The government's official fleet of cars has been upgraded after five years so that ministers are now transported in luxurious 3,000 cc Toyota Crown Royal Saloons.
Officials and Toyota executives are keeping mum on whether the imported sedans were purchased at full price, for a discount or supplied for free.
However, the appearance of the new cars has reaped criticism from analysts who view such luxury as incompatible with the poverty that afflicts a large part of the population.
Arbi Sanit, a political expert from the University of Indonesia, said ministers should not be receiving new cars while many citizens are struggling to overcome poverty.
"They are lavishing money on themselves at the expense of a poor country, and this means the exploitation of the citizens," Arbi said. "Our citizens are poor and they use our money for new cars."
According to the United Nations Development Program, about 37 million out of 220 million Indonesians are living below the poverty line.
Arbi said the officials did not deserve the new cars as the government had yet to achieve real progress in improving the welfare of the nation.
"They do not have the right to get more perks as they have not shown us any achievements in creating better governance," he said. "Many cases such as Bank Century and the Corruption Eradication Commission remain unsolved. It means that they are ineffective officials."
Ikrar Nusa Bakti, a political analyst from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said the new cars would hurt people who were still struggling.
"The large amount of money spent on the luxury cars could be used to finance programs to curb poverty," Ikrar said. "How many kilometers did the old cars cover during the last five years? The cars were only used from their homes to their offices. I bet they are still in a good condition."
He said that even if the state had budgeted for the purchase, the expense could still be reviewed.
Johny Darmawan, the CEO of Toyota Astra Motor, was not immediately available for comment, while a Toyota customer care officer declined to comment on the price of the sedans. "We cannot give you any information about the price as the cars are for the ministers," she said.
Media reports have suggested that the cars cost as much as Rp 1.3 billion ($137,800) each. Julian Aldrin Pasha, the presidential spokesman, also declined to comment on the issue when contacted by the Jakarta Globe.
State Secretary Sudi Silalahi was reported by Tempointeractive.com as denying the Toyota Crowns were luxury cars, even though Toyota itself advertises them as such.