Indonesia’s Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad on Tuesday defended the contentious 50 million Indonesian rupiah (about $3,000) monthly housing allowance for Indonesian lawmakers, clarifying that the benefit is disbursed for just one year.
His statement comes a day after protests over the policy escalated into violent clashes outside the parliament complex in Jakarta.
“Lawmakers receive 50 million rupiah a month from October 2024 until October 2025. The money is meant to pay for housing contracts during the five-year term. After October 2025, the allowance will no longer be given,” Dasco told local media as reported by Jakarta Globe.
He said the total payout of 600 million rupiah ($36,000) per lawmaker is intended to cover rent throughout their five-year term, which ends in 2029.
The announcement follows Monday’s demonstrations, which saw thousands of students, workers, and activists rally against the housing allowance and other parliamentary pay increases. Protesters accused lawmakers of being out of touch with ordinary Indonesians struggling with rising living costs.
Clashes with police broke out as protesters attempted to breach barricades surrounding the House of Representatives (DPR). Authorities responded with tear gas and water cannons, detaining 312 people, including 205 minors, according to local officials.
Some demonstrators set off fireworks and burned a motorcycle during the unrest, as televised footage showed protesters carrying flags from the Japanese manga ‘One Piece’, now a recurring symbol in civic protests in the country.
Hurting public sense of fairness
Public policy analyst Achmad Nur Hidayat criticised the allowance, noting that it is nearly ten times the highest regional minimum wage and up to twenty times higher than wages in poorer areas.
“An income package of up to 100 million rupiah (about $6,000) per month deeply hurts the public’s sense of fairness,” Achmad told Indonesia’s private BeritaSatu TV news platform.
“Just for housing allowances alone, covering 575 lawmakers over a five-year term, the state must spend 1.73 trillion rupiah (about $106 million),” he pointed out.
House Speaker Puan Maharani had earlier defended the policy, arguing that it reflects Jakarta’s rental market and the fact that lawmakers no longer have access to state-provided housing in South Jakarta’s Kalibata complex.
She added that she was open to accommodating public concerns regarding parliamentary pay.
Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, has seen rising tensions over lawmakers’ remuneration, which far exceeds the average monthly income of 3.1 million rupiah (about $190 million).
Critics say the perception of “corrupt elites” and policies favouring conglomerates and the military has fueled public anger under President Prabowo Subianto, a former general.
