Anita Rachman – An alliance of nongovernmental organizations urged the Regional Representatives Council on Monday to drop its plan to build 33 provincial constituent offices across the archipelago, saying the offices would be a waste of money as the council members were based in Jakarta.

The Civil Society Alliance (Aliansi Masyarakat Sipil) – consisting of NGOs such as Transparency Indonesia and the Concerned Citizens for the Indonesian Legislature (Formappi) – said the council, known as the DPD, was ignoring more pressing concerns regarding poor infrastructure and subpar education at the local level.

"The DPD is worse than the [House of Representatives], it doesn't even have such authority but is forcing to push the plan," said Sebastian Salang from Formappi. He was referring to a plan to build a new office tower for the House that was canceled amid fierce public outcry over its Rp 1.13 trillion ($132 million) price tag.

The 33 DPD offices are projected to cost Rp 823 billion in total. Besides the AMS, House Speaker Marzuki Alie has also lambasted the project as exorbitant, saying it had a higher cost per square meter than the now canceled new House tower.