Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The House of Representatives' proposal to build a new office building at the cost of Rp 1.8 trillion ($200 million) was met with criticism on Sunday, with two experts saying the price tag was excessive.

Last week, the House, also known as the DPR, announced it was planning to build a 36-story edifice with 700 rooms serving mainly as lawmakers' offices within the DPR complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) political analyst Burhanuddin Muhtadi said legislators did need a new office building because of the growing number of cracks at Nusantara I, their current home, but the proposed price tag was "far too much."

"The new building will be in the same office complex, so the government won't need to acquire more land," Burhanuddin said. "As such, spending Rp 1.8 trillion is far too much just for one new building."

He added the House and the government should find ways to reduce the cost of the proposed building without having to bypass safety regulations. "The current amount being proposed would simply be a waste of taxpayers' money," Burhanuddin said. "Ideally, it should be less than Rp 1 trillion."

Patra M Zen of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) agreed, saying the government should use the state budget for the welfare of the citizens. He added that the proposed cost was unreasonable, considering the lawmakers' performance.

"For example, the House will not likely meet its legislative target this year," Patra said on Sunday. "So it doesn't make sense that they're now demanding expensive facilities."

Harry Azhar Azis, chairman of the House committee on budget, said the legislature and the government had agreed to start construction of the new building this year, with initial funding of Rp 250 billion already allocated for construction.

"We only approved this much as a start, because we're prioritizing other government programs," he said. "The new building should be finished in three years."

Harry said the Rp 250 billion initial budget was less than one-tenth of the average budget of Rp 5.65 trillion allocated this year to each ministry or governmental institution.

He added that the budget for the new building was also far less than the Rp 5.5 trillion set aside this year for the Acceleration of Regional Infrastructure Program. "So the cost of putting up the new office building is not excessive," Harry said.

Harry previously said the new building would be inside the House complex, next to Nusantara I.

Two years ago, an architectural survey of Nusantara I, completed under President Suharto in 1968, revealed the building had structural cracks and was tilting by as much as 7 degrees.