Don't spoil the legislators!

Recently, the House of Representatives' special committee and Ministry of Home Affairs held a working conference at the luxurious Grand Melia Hotel in Kuningan, Central Jakarta, for two days, to discuss the manpower bill.

I do not know who picked up the tab for the function but the rate of a hotel room is US$210 per day, plus 21 percent for tax and service. The fee for the conference room is $750 per day plus 21 percent for tax and service.

The committee also held a meeting with the finance ministry at Horison Hotel at Ancol, North Jakarta, for 12 days to discuss the bill on taxes. The participants spent their nights at the hotel. The cost of the project was shouldered by the finance ministry. In addition, each participant was entitled to receive an honorarium, as a token of appreciation, of Rp 5 million.

The House, in fact, has a new multistoried building which is fashionable enough for conferences. Naturally a large amount of the state's budget was spent to construct the building. Why did not they use it? Was it not a waste of money?

A legislator's monthly salary is about Rp 5 million. And they get facilities such as purchasing a car in installments and exemption from all sorts of taxes.

When a team of legislators make a visit to the provinces it has been customary for the local authority, or the enterprise visited, to pay the officials' hotel bills, airplane tickets and give them souvenirs and maybe pocket money as well.

In this time of tight monetary policy, it is necessary for the legislators to support the policy and exercise austerity. And the society need not spoil them. They should receive no special privileges.

In this context, I would suggest to the House leadership that they establish clear-cut regulations to the effect that:

1. Legislators should hold conferences in the House's building and their honorarium for a meeting should be standardized.

2. There should be guidelines which specify what legislators can and cannot receive from the local government or companies (state-owned or private) when they visit their premises.

The ministries, institutions and state-owned companies should consider the appropriate way of treating the honorable members of the House. Remember all people are having a tough time facing up to the monetary crisis. The people on small incomes, such as civil servants, Armed Forces members, workers and pensioners, in particular, are the most vulnerable in such a crisis.

Also it needs to be recognized that legislators represent and serve the people, not the other way around.

It should be noted that there are many articles in the tax bill which contradict other laws or the constitution. These inconsistencies benefit the government but disadvantage the taxpayers, whose rights are curtailed. In essence the House special committee is only satisfying the government's interests.

SUHARSONO HADIKUSUMO

Jakarta