Bagus BT Saragih – Members of the House of Representatives are proving their supervisory worth to the public, only this time, their focus is on snacks.
Less than a month after a Rp 20 billion (US$2.21 million) renovation project sparked a public outcry, legislators drew further criticism after some complained about refreshments served at meetings.
"Some say the snacks served at meetings are not varied and are less appetizing. Others say they are unhealthy," said Refrizal, a Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker who is also deputy chairman of the House's household affairs committee (BURT), on Tuesday.
He was commenting on the refreshments served to lawmakers at every House meeting. Every lawmaker attending a meeting is usually provided with a small box containing three to four cookies, a slice of fruit and a glass of mineral water.
"I rarely eat them because they can affect my health," House deputy speaker Pramono Anung of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said when asked about the snacks. "Imagine if you eat and then sit through the whole meeting. That is not good because it can increase your weight," he added.
Refrizal said BURT would question the House's Secretariat, which oversees procurement of the snacks. "BURT has approved significant increases in the budget allocation for refreshments, but why has the variety of snacks remained unchanged for years?" Refrizal said.
According to him, the allocation for each box of snacks was Rp 20,000 (US$2.21), higher than Rp 15,000 in 2011 and Rp 7,500 in 2010. "Some friends of mine said the snacks we have these days cost only about Rp 10,000 per box. We need to address this issue since it may involve budget mark-ups," Refrizal added.
National Mandate Party (PAN) member Teguh Juwarno said refreshments for lawmakers should contain more nutrition due to the high load of lawmakers' activities.
"I personally have no problem with the snacks. However, some legislators have come up with the idea of increasing their quality, which is not a bad suggestion," Teguh said.
"We need to hire a nutritionist to assess the quality of our snacks. This is important to prevent lawmakers from having high cholesterol and becoming overweight," he added.
The House is already under public scrutiny after the media revealed its project to renovate the budgetary committee's meeting room, totaling Rp 20 billion. The project included the procurement of German-made chairs worth Rp 20 million each. The renovation was one of six controversial projects quietly approved in 2011.
Spending at the House
1. The Rp 20.3 billion (US$2.26 million) renovation of a House meeting room. The project, which would have renovated an old room into a plush meeting hall for the budget committee, sparked protests from civil society groups as it cost Rp 20.3 billion to furnish the room, with imported chairs costing Rp 9 million per unit, imported carpets and a modern sound system. An anti-bugging device worth Rp 7.8 billion was also to be procured.
2. The Rp 3 billion renovation of the parking lot
3. The Rp 2 billion refurbishment of the toilets
4. The Rp 1.59 billion procurement of fragrance devices
5. The Rp 1.3 billion production of calendars
6. The Rp 4.8 billion procurement of large LED TVs
7. The Rp 3.7 billion fingerprint scanning machine.
[Source: The Jakarta Post]