Anastasya Lavenia Yudi – The Forum Indonesia for Budget Transparency (Fitra) criticized the provision of a housing allowance amounting to Rp50 million per month for House of Representatives (DPR) members. This critique serves as a response to the statement of the Chair of the DPR Budget Committee, Said Abdullah, who mentioned that the housing allowance is more efficient compared to providing Official Residence for Members (RJA).
The Secretary General of Fitra, Misbah Hasan, stated that this policy is considered lavish in the midst of the government's budget efficiency policy. He said, "The housing allowance for DPR members could be allocated for the needs of the people who are more in need, such as accelerating the 3 million livable housing program for the poor," in a written statement on Wednesday, August 20, 2025.
Furthermore, Misbah mentioned that the scheme used is also non-transparent and unaccountable. The lump sum housing allowance for DPR members has a high potential for misuse. He mentioned that the received allowance may not necessarily be used for housing needs due to the absence of actual reports.
Misbah stated that budget priorities should be given to programs that directly impact the basic needs of the people. Moreover, he said that the current performance of the council is still relatively low, especially in the aspects of legislation and budget oversight.
Not only that, the provision of this allowance is also feared to widen the economic gap between representatives and the general public. "The DPR, as a symbol of the people, should set an example of modesty, instead of using public funds to live in luxury," he added.
The Secretary General of the DPR, Indra Iskandar, previously stated that this allowance is given because DPR members for the 2024-2029 period no longer receive the RJA facility. This is because the official residence located in the Kalibata area, South Jakarta, is considered to be physically inadequate and uneconomical to maintain. The maintenance costs were also deemed disproportionate.
"We have received many complaints from members of the Indonesian DPR regarding the old building which often experiences severe damage, especially leaks and rainwater from the river passing through the middle of the residence," said Indra when contacted on Monday, August 18, 2025.
Meanwhile, the Chair of the DPR Budget Committee, Said Abdullah, stated that the provision of a housing allowance of Rp 50 million per month for legislators is based on budget efficiency considerations. He believes that the allocation of the allowance could save hundreds of billions for the maintenance of former DPR official residences. "It's better to provide a housing allowance than to spend hundreds of billions each year to repair RJA," Said stated at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, on Tuesday, August 19, 2025.
– Ervana Trikarinaputri and Dian Rahma Fika contributed to the writing of this article.