Mothers first to protest legislators' huge raise

Mothers first to protest legislators' huge raise

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Experts and observers have strongly criticized members of the
House of Representatives (DPR) for raising their monthly
allowances by Rp 10 million, but it was dozens of mothers from
across Greater Jakarta who first took to the streets to protest
the decision.

Carrying forks, spoons, plates, metal rice steamers and rice
containers, more than 50 women from across Jakarta gathered in
front of the DPR compound on Friday to protest the increase in
legislators's operational allowances and budget allocations for
the presidential office.

"I see all the legislators are merry, their allowances have
been increased for Lebaran. While poor people suffer and hunger
reigns. But legislators turn their faces away, they don't care,"
the women sang to the tune of Ibu Sud's famous song Ibu Pertiwi.

The women are part of kampong (village) discussion groups
regularly organized by women's rights group Women's Solidarity
for Human Rights of the Jabotabek Community (SP Jabotabek).

The women -- who came from Duri Kepa in West Jakarta, Tanjung
Priok in North Jakarta, and Bojong Gede in Bogor -- charged that
the government had lied to them regarding the fuel price
increase.

They said that while saying that the scrapping of fuel subsidy
was the only way for the government to cut the budget deficit,
the House and government had then increased spending on
themselves.

Uproar over the additional Rp 10 million (about US$1,000) for
"operational allowances" that legislators had given themselves
last week had not died down when the news came that the
government was seeking to increase the presidential office's
spending by 57 percent in the 2006 state budget draft.

The moves have been roundly criticized by observers and
experts, but Friday's rally was the first street protest over the
operational allowance and planned spending increases.

"The people are deliberately being made to bear the burden!"
Sutriyah from Duri Kepa in Grogol, West Jakarta, shouted as she
read the group's statement.

They also charged that the government's cash assistance scheme
for poor households had done nothing but heighten conflict among
communities.

Rohima, wife of a community leader in Bojong Gede, said that
she had witnessed a community torn by envy because of the Rp
100,000 monthly cash assistance.

"The poor deserve the money, but the rich also want a portion,
and they accuse community leaders of playing favoritism," the
mother of three said, explaining that while the amount of money
was not worth very much, it had succeeded in breaking up her
community.

Rohima said that the government would do better to stop the
cash assistance and allocate the money towards free education and
better health services for the poor.

"That much money isn't even enough to buy fuel for boiling
ketupat (rhombus-shaped rice cakes in plaited coconut leaves) for
Idul Fitri," another woman from Tanjung Priok cut in.

The women had hoped to meet members of the House's Budget
Committee who recently approved the basic assumptions for the
2006 state budget.

They were met by House members from the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction, Permadi and Eva Kusuma
Sundari, who promised to bring their demands to the plenary
meeting that was in session.

"I promise you we will fight for the reevaluation of the
proposed 2006 state budget, and if the House doesn't recall the
Rp 10 million additional allowance, I will give it all to my
constituents," Permadi said.