'Most of the money will be spent on hotel rooms'
'Most of the money will be spent on hotel rooms'
The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) agreed to cut short its
Annual Session from 10 days to seven in an attempt to save the
state budget Rp 6 billion from the total allocation of Rp 20
billion. However, the Rp 2 billion-per-day event is still too
expensive in the eyes of ordinary people. Some said skeptically
that the Session would not do anything for them as it would not
improve current conditions. This is what they said to The Jakarta
Post.
Antok, 41, works at a supermarket in Sunter, North Jakarta. He
lives in Cempaka Baru, Central Jakarta, with his wife and son:
I don't know what legislators are discussing now at the Annual
Session. I'm not the slightest bit interested.
This year's Annual Session is the same as in previous years --
dull and nonsensical. The meeting seems a waste of time to most
people.
To be honest, I don't care about it. Why should we care about
it if legislators don't care about us?
I believe that most legislators promote their own interests
rather than the nation's -- they're all self-publicists.
Regardless of such meetings, legislators are incapable of
improving people's lives. So why is it so important to hold such
a costly session?
Even if the assembly shortens the session to seven days, the
amount spent will still be exorbitant. Worse, most of the money
is allotted for legislators' accommodation: Sound's crazy,
doesn't it?
Enny, 32, is a teacher at a private junior high school in
Tangerang, Banten. She lives in Bumi Serpong Damai, Tangerang
with her husband and son:
I've no idea what's going on in the legislature right now. I
don't know and don't want to know what legislators are doing at
the session.
I've never really wanted to know about the agenda at annual
sessions. I just think there's nothing so important that I have
to find out all about it.
I've become quite apathetic now about the deteriorating
situation in the country. None of the leaders or high-ranking
officials really side with the people.
They only waste public money. Why should I be a good taxpayer
if the taxes are used to pay corrupt officials, like all of them?
Even if they shorten the session to seven days, it does not
mean that they are being thrifty. Fourteen billion rupiah for
seven days is still a lot to spend.
It would be far better and honorable if legislators or
government thought of the poor state of education in the country.
They could disburse the money set aside for the session to
increase teachers' welfare, instead. I would agree completely
with the idea as it would help to improve the quality of
education here.
Otherwise, the state budget will be spent on the wrong posts
and people, as at present. The people's representatives do not
deserve that much as they do not represent the people, but their
own vested interests.
Simin, 50, is a sidewalk vendor who sells cold drinks in
Pluit, North Jakarta. He lives in Tanah Merah, North Jakarta,
with his wife and two children:
I don't care about what legislators do now in the MPR
building. The legislators and I don't know each other, so why
should we care about them?
I don't believe their discussions will ever favor the people's
interests. They don't necessarily improve people's lives, do
they?
I don't agree with the session, whether extended or shortened,
because it's all the same -- a waste of public money. To shorten
the number of days doesn't necessarily mean the budget will be
cut.
Millions of people struggle hard simply to earn Rp 20,000 a
day. Meanwhile, legislators get Rp 800,000 a day just for their
five-star hotel accommodation!
Ironically, they are called the representatives of the people,
including those in the low-income bracket -- it's nonsense!
I won't say any more. I'm fed up with my own hardships in
life. The session is none of my business, after all.