Legislators' housing may be sold

JAKARTA: The House of Representatives' complex of 495 upmarket houses in Kalibata, South Jakarta, may be for sale because the government is too broke to fund their maintenance and refurbishment.

The idea to sell the prime-site housing complex has come from legislators Benny Pasaribu, Danial Tandjung and Berny Tamara.

They said the state property had become a liability because the government had to refurbish the housing, built in 1988, and provide furniture every five years.

"As far as I know, MPs in other countries live in lower-cost apartments and not in a facility provided by the state as we do," Pasaribu was quoted as saying by Koran Tempo on Tuesday.

The housing complex for House members has often been in the spotlight. In the most recent controversy, each House member received a washing machine worth Rp 7 million -- a state-provided luxury at a time of economic crisis.

Danial Tandjung, who has been a House member since 1982, said the money raised from the sale could be used to fund legislative activities and reduce the state's financial burden.