Novali Panji Nugroho, Jakarta – Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) sent a letter of objection to the Secretariat General of the House of Representatives (DPR) on Friday, September 12, 2025. The letter was sent after Parliament failed to respond to ICW's request for transparent information about members' income.
ICW researcher Seira Tamara said the initial request letter was sent on August 21. She said that in the letter, the ICW demanded details of legislators' salaries and allowances from the DPR Secretariat.
"We also requested a report on the accountability of funds for constituency visits and recess," Seira said at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday, September 12, 2025.
However, the letter went unanswered by the legislative secretariat. Seira said their organization decided to send a letter of objection because there was no follow-up action for 10 working days.
In addition to the objection letter, Seira said that the ICW requested information about the moratorium document regarding official parliamentary visits to other countries. This includes seeking transparency regarding the certainty of discontinuation of housing allowances.
"We feel the need to obtain clarity on that information, and we requested a copy of the document today," she said.
Egi Primayogha, another ICW researcher, said the DPR should disclose public information regarding the budget. He said this is regulated in Law Number 14 of 2008.
"Because it is a budget allocated from public taxes. There is no reason to conceal public funding," he said at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday, September 12, 2025.
He emphasized the importance of disclosing budget information. He said the purpose is to clarify how the funds are allocated and avoid assumptions by the public. "For example, if housing allowances are removed, where is the allocation of the budget? There must be clarity," he said.
The Secretary General of the DPR, Indra Iskandar, has not responded to Tempo's questions as of the writing of this news. In a previous statement, he said that the parliament no longer allocates a budget for housing allowances.
"The housing allowance budget has been self-blocked," said Indra when contacted on Sunday, September 7, 2025.
Each member of the Parliament receives a housing allowance of Rp50 million. However, the substitute allowance for the official residence of the member has been eliminated.
Indra said the financial rights of the DPR members currently adhere to the applicable provisions. The net income of the DPR members now reaches Rp65 million.
"The latest financial rights apply as of September 1," he said.