As if to show their defense of people's interests, House of Representatives members have proposed a whopping budget of Rp 11.2 trillion (US$842 million) for next year to be spent on development projects requested by their constituents.

The so-called constituency funds emulates pork barrel politics, the use of public funds to benefit a group of people in return for their support for a politician. Such a practice has a long history – and has long been lambasted as a form of bribery – in democratic nations including the US.

It is difficult to justify the state budget allocation for constituency funds in Indonesia, however, not only because of the low public trust in the House, which is considered the country's most corrupt institution, but also because politicians are seen as representatives of their parties, not the people.

As in the previous polls, the 2014 legislative election returned 560 lawmakers, most of whom secured their seats because they headed candidate lists submitted by their respective political parties to the General Elections Commission. They were elected thanks to, and are therefore indebted to, the party elites.

Only a few of the current House members beat the threshold, which means the majority of the lawmakers are strangers to their own constituents. The problem is that they invested big to get elected and will need a lot more to win re-election.

Where does the money come from to fulfill their political ambition? The easiest way is tapping the state budget, the taxpayers' money.

If the proposal is approved in the House's plenary session and eventually by the government, each lawmaker will have Rp 20 billion a year at his or her disposal to treat their constituents.

In 2010, the House working committee approved the Golkar Party's proposal for constituency funds, which was intended to accelerate development in disadvantaged regions, but the bill was rejected by the government.

The same party is now reviving the old plan, citing the government's failure to realize development in remote regions. This time around, Golkar is fully supported by fellow members of the Red and White Coalition and is facing opposition from the ruling Great Indonesia Coalition.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo must be aware that the issue of constituency funds will renew conflict between the two camps, which last year caused a three-month-long stoppage to legislative activities. Jokowi, however, should not bow to pressure to approve the allocation of the funds, not only because it will overlap with government projects, as Vice President Jusuf Kalla has cautioned, but also because it will distract the House's focus from its constitutional duties.

The Constitution clearly says the House is mandated to carry out legislative, supervisory and budgetary functions. How can we trust House members to execute development projects in their respective constituencies when they continue to perform their legislative tasks so poorly?

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/06/16/editorial-no-pork-barrel-politics.html