Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – City councillors now have every reason to smile. Governor Sutiyoso has set councillors' monthly housing allowance at Rp 20 million for leaders and Rp 15 million for members, tripling their income from the previous Rp 6.5 million to over Rp 20 million.

Councillors will also receive a monthly stipend ranging from Rp 130,000 to Rp 326,250 for deliberating bylaws, if they sit on the budgetary committee or become a commission member or are elected a member of council's ethics committee or if they make official visits to constituents.

According to Gubernatorial Decree No. 17/2005 signed on January 25, but which was revealed only on Thursday, each of the city's 71 council members will receive a Rp 15 million housing allowance, while the four council leaders will get Rp 20 million per month.

However, since the four council leaders live in official residences provided by the state, they are unlikely to receive the Rp 20 million allowance.

Previously, council members were paid neither housing allowance nor monthly salaries but did get the Rp 6.5 million stipend.

The payment of a housing allowance for councillors is stipulated in government regulation No. 24/2004 on protocol and financial matters for leaders and members of regional councils (DPRDs).

The regulation states that regional administrations may provide housing allowances for regional councillors if they could afford it.

City councillors had demanded a Rp 12.5 million monthly housing allowance for members and Rp 15 million for council leaders.

The decree also allocates funds for foreign and out-of-town trips for all councillors. Each councillor (leader or member) will receive a Rp 250,000 per day allowance during official out-of-town trips.

For official visits inside Jakarta, councillors will receive local transportation fees per visit – Rp 1 million for council speaker, Rp 900,000 for deputies and Rp 750,000 for members.

They are also entitled to Rp 1.5 million for speaker, Rp 1.4 million for deputies and Rp 1.25 for members for every official activity during the visit.

Should they make official overseas trips, council leaders will receive US$150 and members US$125.

Commenting on the income of city councillors, chairman of the Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) Azas Tigor Nainggolan said councillors should not receive a housing allowance because all of them had houses in the capital.

"Although the prevailing regulation allows them to accept such allowances, they do not deserve such facilities. Those facilities are reserved for councillors in other regions, whose houses are far from their offices," he said.