Jakarta – House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Anis Matta on Thursday questioned the ongoing public criticism of the House of Representatives, saying the House was the most transparent public institution in Indonesia.

"You all know about the House budget, even the House phone bills. I think this can only happen because the House is a political institution, so everyone can monitor it. I think the most transparent institution in this country is the House [of Representatives]. Its legislators are few, and yet it is the most transparent," Anis said as quoted by kompas.com

Earlier, the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (FITRA) released a report that each House legislator had received a cell phone allowance of up to Rp 14 million (US$1,600) a month.

Anis, however, denied the allegations. "That's not true. The phone allowance was not even half [of Rp 14 million]," he said.

House Speaker Marzuki Alie also denied the statement on the phone allowance and criticized FITRA for not seeking House confirmation of its data. He added that the phone allowance allocated to the official residence of each legislator was around Rp 2 million.