Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Ezra Sihite – Following public outrage over a string of questionable spending decisions by the House of Representatives, the House Honor Council has proposed that the state do away with the official housing set aside for legislators.

Lawmakers have been accused of showing a reluctance to live at the houses for multiple reasons because the units are not up to lawmakers' high-end lifestyles, causing many houses to remain vacant.

On top of that, the houses have been renovated and given new facilities, costing state coffers hundreds of billions of rupiah. Lawmakers are also given monthly allowances for house maintenance.

As a replacement for the housing, the council proposed that each lawmaker rent a house. Rent money would be disbursed to them as long as it does not exceed the maximum budget allocated for the purpose. "The House's leaders have listened to the proposal. We will discuss it further," House Deputy Speaker Pramono Anung said.

The House has two housing complexes – one in Kalibata, South Jakarta, and another in Meruya, West Jakarta. Both are regarded as being situated among the capital's prime real estate.

A recently completed Rp 479 billion ($53.6 million) renovation of the Kalibata complex sparked accusations that huge markups were included in the project.

While renovation for each house cost Rp 612 million, experts have said each one should have only cost Rp 125 million. While awaiting the renovations' completion, lawmakers were given Rp 15 million monthly for lodging accommodation.

But even with the renovations finished, two-thirds of legislators do not live in the houses, lawmaker Tubagus Hasanuddin said.

Pramono said that the House's housing complexes could be turned into business and commercial facilities, arguing that they would be more useful to the public in these capacities.