Lawmakers Lash Out at Jokowi's Rejection of 'Aspiration Funds'
Jakarta. Lawmakers fuming over President Joko Widodo’s decision to reject their proposed “aspirational funds" have played down criticism that the funds are vulnerable to misuse and have accused the president of stymieing the program for political ends.
Jazulli Juwaini, head of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction in the House of Representatives, or DPR, on Thursday called the president’s move “politically motivated."
He also said the funds, which have been dubbed the “Electoral Region Development Fund,” or UP2DP, did not have to conflict with the government’s development goals.
While explaining the president’s disapproval with the legislative proposal on Wednesday, Cabinet Secretary Pratikno said the funds would clash with the government’s vision and plans for regional development.
However, Jazuli said lawmakers would discuss how they planned to use the funds with the government in order to match regional and national programs.
"If they fit middle- and long-term development plans, the government will have the right to accommodate [lawmakers’ proposals].
"If not, then the government can reject.
“We call it political if [the aspiration funds] are rejected beforehand. People who reject this fiercely are only seeking a political stage."
Jazuli claimed no PKS legislator would abuse the funds and lamented the government's failure to see how the program would enable lawmakers to give back to their constituents.
“Imagine you’ve been elected by the people, but don’t bring anything for them."
Under the UP2DP proposal, legislators are pushing the government to include Rp 11.2 trillion ($814.6 million) in so-called aspiration funds in next year’s state budget.
The proposed fund is to be distributed among all 560 House members — meaning each of them will receive Rp 20 billion — and used for any development project of their choosing in their respective electoral districts.
A House team working on details of the plan have said there would be “no special supervision” of the use of the funds — something that has worried critics, including the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)
Yandri Susanto, a lawmaker with the National Mandate Party (PAN), said just because no special supervision of the funds was planned, it was not a reason for rejection.
He said each lawmaker would ensure careful use of the funds by examining every proposal. The chance of corruption would be “minimal” because the government was supposed to be the executor of all the projects, he said.
Yandri, secretary of the PAN faction at the House, said he would simply blame the president if the public asked why lawmakers could not help them finance local development.
“We will just tell them that Jokowi doesn’t approve,” he said, referring to the president by his popular nickname.
However, lawmaker Tubagus Hasanuddin, of Joko’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), has questioned how committed his fellow legislators really are to regional development.
“To be honest, along my [previous] five-year term at the House, there had never been requests by individual lawmakers to build roads, bridges or schools," he said.
"There had never been such things. Those large-scale proposals usually come from regional administrations."
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