House Commission XIII Rejects New Office Construction Plan for Human Rights Ministry

Chairman of Commission XIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR), Willy Aditya, has rejected a plan to construct new offices proposed by Minister of Human Rights (HAM), Natalius Pigai. Willy emphasised that amidst the current state financial crisis, procuring new office infrastructure is not urgent and would only add to the national budget burden.

Willy reminded Natalius Pigai to steer the new ministry with a progressive paradigm, in line with the budget efficiency spirit championed by President Prabowo Subianto. According to him, the existing office facilities are more than adequate to accommodate the Ministry of Human Rights’ operations.

“There is no need to build an office. No need. The office is already there. This is another burden on the state. The state is in crisis. Think about the maintenance later. Let’s think progressively. The President is already progressive, should we be conservative? Don’t prioritise internal services first. Show that when human rights are managed by activists, it is truly right,” Willy stated in Jakarta on Friday (12/6/2026).

The NasDem Party politician likened the ministry’s policy direction to the lyrics of a national song, demanding that the institution led by Pigai prioritise substantive human rights protection over polishing physical facilities. “Build its soul first, then its body. So we share the same spirit,” he asserted.

As a consequence of the incomplete details of the proposed work programme, Commission XIII decided to postpone the approval of the budget discussion proposed by the Ministry of Human Rights. Willy assessed that the draft budget structure presented by Natalius Pigai was still too vague and lacked clear success indicators. The DPR requested the ministry to immediately conduct a total refocusing and restructuring of the budget.

“If this is not detailed, it cannot proceed. The variables are not measurable. It is true that human rights are intangible, but the instruments must be tangible, the programmes must be tangible,” Willy said.

In addition to the budget postponement, the parliament mandated the Ministry of Human Rights to draft a written institutional development trajectory scheme for the next five years. This blueprint must contain a clear roadmap regarding the portion of legal instrument development, public service enhancement, and internal human resource capacity building schemes.