Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has once again come under the spotlight for giving a lifetime retirement pension to its former members, although their positions were purely political.
House secretary-general Winantuningtyas said Thursday that former lawmakers would receive between 6 and 75 percent of their salary depending on how long they had served, for the rest of their lives.
"Those who served for ten years, for example, will get around Rp 4.2 million (US$432.90) per month in addition to 10 kilograms of rice. Those with lesser service terms will of course get less," Winantuningtyas said.
She said that the pension given to lawmakers for the past three decades was stipulated in Law No. 12/1980 on the financial rights of members and former members of the state's executive and legislative bodies and the Government Regulation No. 75/2000 which gives details on their basic salaries.
Anti-graft activists have criticized the scheme saying that it has insulted their sense of fairness.
Uchok Sky Khadafi of the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) said that lawmakers did not deserve the pension as they were already awash with cash and luxury goods in spite of their mediocre performance.
"I think they don't deserve it because their terms lasts only 10 years at the most. Besides, they often skip House sessions for unknown reasons. With such a poor performance, it's more than enough for them to earn tens of millions rupiah every month in addition to a great deal of facilities," Uchok told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
FITRA recorded that the House annually spent around Rp 511 billion for the salaries of 560 lawmakers, with each of them taking more than Rp 60 million per month depending on their positions.
The Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) expressed similar concerns, saying that the policy had given rise to excessive government spending. "The government already spent too much on the lawmakers, but their contribution is minimal," Abdullah Dahlan of ICW said.
The House has often been criticized for proposing budgets for foreign trips, for example, and for the lavish reconstruction of the House compound. Lawmakers earn extra money from their overseas trips or trips that they make during recess periods.
According to Law No. 12/1980, each member of the House will receive a monthly pension if they are not dishonorably discharged from their position. The payment will stop if they die or become government officials.
To specifically set basic standard for lawmakers' salaries, the 2000 regulation stipulates that leaders of the House and the People's Consultative Assembly will earn Rp 5.04 million per month; while their deputies get Rp 4.62 million. Regular members get Rp 4.2 million.
Several lawmakers have supported the proposal to drop the pension scheme. "I personally think that we, lawmakers, should be excluded from the benefit," House deputy speaker Pramono Anung from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) told reporters.
Pramono further encouraged the public to file complaints to urge the House and the government to amend the 1980 law, which he said was outdated.
Martin Hutabarat from the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party supported the proposal, arguing that the law has unfairly treated lawmakers who resigned only after briefly serving their terms.
Other lawmakers have rejected proposal to amend the 1980 law. Sutan Bhatoegana of the Democratic Party said that lawmakers, just like any government officials, have worked hard to bring prosperity to the people.
"Don't try to link the pension benefit with the discipline of lawmakers. Many of state officials have also posted poor performance and discipline but they get their pension benefits. Why shouldn't we get the same?" he said.