Anita Rachman – A state budget watchdog on Thursday released data detailing extravagant spending by House Commission I members on comparative study trips.
Uchok Sky Khadafi, from the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), said that members of House Commission I overseeing defense affairs had already spent Rp 4.5 billion ($522,000) on study junkets to United States, Turkey, Russia and France. The members departed the country on Wednesday.
"They don't want to put a stop to the construction of a new office tower, and they continue to maintain their hobby of traveling overseas," Uchok said at the release of Fitra's latest report.
According to Fitra, the trip to the US has been allocated the most state funds, about Rp 1.4 billion, while lawmakers have been budgeted Rp 1.2 billion for the Russian trip, Rp 944,500 for France and Rp 879,900 for Turkey. The funds have been taken from the House budget.
The House's Household Affairs Committee (BURT) recently proposed allocating Rp 541.2 billion ($63 million) to its legislation budget for 2012. The figure is almost double the budget of Rp 301.7 billion set in 2010.
The proposed budget also reportedly provides a substantial increase to funds allocated for comparative studies abroad despite widespread criticism that the trips were a waste of taxpayers' money.
Uchok said comparative studies were yet to prove fruitful, adding that it was unfair for lawmakers to spend Rp 4.5 billion in one month, while taxpayers spend the year gathering the money.
He said the amount spent by the Commission I lawmakers was the equivalent to the funds needed to educate 98 students from elementary to university. "They should have used the budget for the poor instead of using the money for their own pleasure. Moreover, they left the country without any announcements," he said.
Uchock said lawmakers needed to understand that the overseas jaunts were hurting the public, and instead of traveling abroad, lawmakers should visit their local constituents.
Hidayat Nur Wahid, senior politician from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) who is also member of Commission I, said that some Commission I lawmakers were yet to leave on the state-funded junket.
He declined to comment on where he would be traveling and the purpose of the trip. "Please ask the secretariat of Commission I for that [information]," he said.