Jakarta – Indonesian MPs are planning an all-expenses paid jaunt around Asia to carry out a study of the perks accorded to their peers, the Jakarta Post reported Wednesday.

MPs from the national assembly's In-House Affairs Body will undertake a "comparitive studies" trip to compare their salaries, benefits and office facilities with legislators elsewhere in the region.

"We will check out if we have met their standards," Gusti Basan Burnia, one of the legislators, told the Post, denying that the foreign visit was a disguised junket.

Indonesian MPs are entitled on average to an annual salary of 40 million rupiah (around 4,000 dollars), more than twice what a long-serving, middle-ranking government official would earn.

They also have free housing with all utility costs paid by the state, access to easy credit lines to purchase house appliances and cars, and generous allowances for attending meetings.