The Rp 7 billion mansion

The Rp 7 billion mansion

The success of Indonesia's economic development efforts of the last two decades has of late made many of us accustomed to seeing advertisements offering pricey housing projects with homes that cost from several hundred million rupiah up to two billion. Of course, in a country with an annual per capita income of only US$920 and some 25 million people still living below the poverty line, only a handful of people can afford to own a Rp 2 billion mansion.

So, we cannot hide our astonishment upon reading a report that the construction of a new official residence for the provincial governor of Central Java in Semarang may cost Rp 7 billion, or the equivalent of roughly $3.128 million.

According to the report, the initial budget for the construction of the mansion was "only" Rp 4 billion. But due to some design changes, among others a decision to use Italian marble flooring instead of a local product, the cost has shot up to Rp 7 billion. The additional cost is reportedly also due to a plan to build two special guest rooms for the President and the Vice President if they happen to visit Semarang and want to stay overnight.

The report also says that the plan has been rejected by the budget committee of the provincial legislative council because it violates the standard price level for such a project, set by the National Planning Agency (Bappenas). The council has also set up a special committee to further evaluate the plan.

The idea of having to build special rooms for the President and Vice President in case they want to stay in Semarang, borders on the absurd. How many nights have the President and Vice President ever stayed over in Semarang? Does that number justify building special guest rooms?

We can foretell that if the rooms are built they will be unused most of the year because the rightful users are not there to inhabit them. This can be easily predicted because, in line with Javanese custom, nobody else will dare to sleep in them for fear of being disrespectful.

The point is that the fact that plans are afoot to build a Rp 7 billion mansion for a provincial governor is yet another indication that some people here are totally indifferent to the public's feelings. Or perhaps those people have become so calloused that they have lost their sensitivity to the fact that a large portion of our people are still poor. To a large number of Indonesian people, to even see one million rupiah is beyond their wildest dreams.

We must remember that Central Java has its share of the nation's least developed villages, which are getting Rp 20 million in subsidies yearly from the central government. We assume Rp 7 billion would help a lot in the efforts to eradicate poverty in the province.

Given the dominant position of the executive branches of government in our current system one might expect the objections raised by the local legislative council to be ignored. Except, of course, if some element of the higher executive branch, for instance the Ministry of Home Affairs, or the chairman of Bappenas, decides to intervene due to public concern over the matter.

It seems reasonable, therefore, that the Minister of Home Affairs should take a firm stand on this matter.

We are living at a time when a growing number of people are becoming sensitive to social issues. The public is already embittered by the widening of gap between the rich and the poor. In some cases this dissatisfaction has reached a point of frustration. To continue to build the Rp 7 billion governor's mansion will not only hurt feelings but may strengthen the growing outrage at injustice in society.