Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Insinuations of corruption are being floated after a House of Representatives Secretariat member said the design of the controversial new legislative building would likely not be altered, contradicting instructions from House leaders.

House Deputy Speaker Taufik Kurniawan, from the National Mandate Party (PAN), said on Wednesday they would demand Mardian Umar, who leads the technical team overseeing the project, to explain his statements on Tuesday that contradicted the House leadership's orders.

House Speaker Marzuki Alie on Monday called for the project to be postponed to allow a review of the plan and to revise its cost, including looking at the possibility of providing smaller office suites.

But Mardian said on Tuesday "if the design is changed, then all the work we did all those years will have been in vain."

Scathing public criticism led the House to order a review of the Rp 1.6 trillion ($177.6 million) office building, which will feature an entire floor dedicated to a swimming pool, sauna and gym, as well as 120-square-meter office suites for each of the 560 legislators.

But despite Marzuki's call for a revision of plans, including the size of the suites, Mardian said the review would only be directed at the controversial luxury facilities, such as the pool, sauna and gym.

Taufik said Mardian's statements aroused suspicions. He said they would give the Corruption Eradication Commission permission to launch investigations into the new building.

"The process is very suspicious," Taufik said. "We want a thorough review but they only want a review of the spa and swimming pool. They must follow our political decision."

Uchok Sky Khadafi, from the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), said canceling the plan would cost the state just Rp 20 billion. The rest of the Rp 250 billion allocated this year to start the project could still be returned to the Treasury.

"If the secretariat general keeps forcing the House to move forward with the plan, then we could take it as an early indication of corruption," he said.

However, Ibrahim Zuhdi Fahmi Badoh, head of Indonesia Corruption Watch's political corruption division, said the public should be wary of the House leaders' new stance, saying the secretariat may be made a scapegoat.

"We could see this as lawmakers passing on the responsibility to other parties. It doesn't mean the House leadership is innocent," he said.