TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) has evaluated the salaries and allowances of its members. This step was taken after massive demonstrations occurred in several regions, resulting in heavy casualties.
In response to the public's demands, DPR Vice Chair Sufmi Dasco Ahmad announced several points that had been agreed upon by the council. "The first point is that the DPR has agreed to stop providing housing allowances to DPR members as of August 31, 2025," he said in Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday, September 5, 2025.
Other improvements being made include a moratorium on official trips abroad. The DPR is also reconsidering allowances such as electricity expenses, telephone service costs, intensive communication costs, and transportation allowances. As a form of transparency, Dasco attached details of the total DPR salaries and allowances amounting to Rp65.5 million per month."
Achmad Nur Hidayat, an economist and public policy expert at UPN Veteran Jakarta, believes that the core issue is not only about the salaries of council members. "It's about a sense of justice and the relevance of their performance," he told Tempo on Saturday, September 6, 2025.
He stated that the solution to the public's demands must be layered. First, the DPR needs to have measurements of success, such as genuinely enacted priority bills, the quality of budget oversight, and evidence of advocacy for issues directly impacting constituents, such as food prices, healthcare services, and employment opportunities.
In addition, Achmad believes that there needs to be transparency regarding the disclosure of assets, such as random audits of wealth reports, the tracing of conflicts of interest, and the annual publication of performance reports for each member. Reform of the allocation of DPR allowances is necessary. According to him, the state budget must prioritize needs that support the functions of representation and oversight, not desires that are historical or symbolic.
He criticized several types of allowances that are considered outdated. "Allowances for rice and similar natural facilities need to be reviewed, as they are no longer suitable for the context of public officials in the 21st century, whose income is sufficient to buy basic needs without specific subsidies," he said.
Furthermore, session fees or packages must be strictly linked to performance, such as being based on meeting outputs, the quality of recommendations, and their follow-ups, not just formal attendance.
Achmad believes that budget rationalization should also target provincial and regency/city DPRs. "In many regions, the allowance patterns imitate the central government's while their fiscal capacity is limited."
Although he views the DPR's steps to cut allowances as a good initial signal, he says that budget equality and justice can only arise from comprehensive performance discipline, namely rational allowances, public spending that favors outcomes, and transparent governance.
Prior to this, Dasco had distributed documents detailing the salaries and allowances for DPR members for the 2024-2029 period. Based on the received documents, the breakdown of the take-home pay (THP) or net income of DPR members is as follows.
Basic salary and position allowances
1. Basic Salary: Rp4,200,000
2. Spouse's allowance for state officials: Rp420,000
3. Child allowance for state officials: Rp168,000
4. Position allowance: Rp9,700,000
5. Rice allowance for state officials: Rp289,680
6. Session fee/package: Rp2,000,000
Total fixed salary and allowances: Rp16,777,680.
Constitutional allowances
1. Intensive communication cost: Rp20,033,000
2. Honorary allowance for DPR members: Rp7,187,000
3. Budget oversight and constitutional duties as the council's implementation: Rp4,830,000
4. Honorarium for council function enhancement activities
a. Legislative function: Rp8,461,000
b. Oversight function: Rp8,461,000
c. Budget function: Rp8,461,000
Total constitutional allowances: Rp57,433,000
Dian Rahma Fika contributed to the writing of this article.
Editor's Choice: Updated DPR Allowance Scheme: Take-Home Pay Reaches Rp65.5 Million
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