Assembly starts Annual Session, workload small<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari and M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post,
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Approaching the end of its term ahead of the 2004 general
\nelections, the country's highest lawmaking body, the People's
\nConsultative Assembly (MPR), today starts its Annual Session with
\na much smaller workload than usual.<\/p>\n
Unlike previous sessions when the MPR was tasked with amending
\nthe Constitution, this time around it only has low-key issues to
\nhandle, something that has made many analysts suggest that the
\ngathering has already lost its relevance.<\/p>\n
MPR members convene amid heightened security concerns in the
\nwake of a string of terror attacks in the capital, with the
\nlatest explosion going off inside the MPR compound itself.<\/p>\n
The annual session's main business this year consists of
\nfollowing up on the planned establishment of the constitutional
\ncommission, the revoking a series of Assembly decrees, and
\nhearing reports from the President and a number of state
\ninstitutions.<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri is slated to deliver her
\nprogress report following the annual meeting's opening ceremony.<\/p>\n
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, State Audit Agency (BPK) head
\nSatrio Budiharjo Joedono, and Chief Justice Bagir Manan will also
\ndeliver reports on their respective institutions.<\/p>\n
The assembly session will have two commissions, A on the
\nplanned establishment of the constitutional commission and B on
\nthe review of around 100 obsolete decrees, something that has
\nbeen proposed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
\nPerjuangan).<\/p>\n
The main duties of the constitutional commission, which will
\nhave 31 members and a six-month tenure, is to review the
\nConstitution. Many mass organizations have urged the Assembly to
\nreview the amendments to the Constitution that were quietly
\nbrought in last year.<\/p>\n
Close to 700 MPR members are expected to attend the session,
\nwhich will cost taxpayers Rp 20 billion (US$2.4 million).<\/p>\n
As for security during the session, Insp. Gen. Makbul
\nPadmanagara, the Jakarta Police chief, said that the force would
\ndeploy its full strength to secure the session.<\/p>\n
Police have imposed a state of red alert in the city, meaning
\nthat police personnel are not permitted to take leave or to leave
\nthe city. The Jakarta Police has 20,895 personnel at its
\ndisposal.<\/p>\n
A total of 1,300 personnel will be deployed to guard the 15-
\nhectare House of Representatives\/MPR compound and the Hotel Mulia
\nSenayan in Central Jakarta, where the Assembly members will stay
\nduring the session.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, dozens of stalls, and television and radio studios
\nhave been set up in the lobby of the Assembly building.<\/p>\n
A staffer with private television station TPI, Gunawan,
\ndisclosed that each television station is permitted to put up a 6
\nby 6 meter studio in the lobby for ten days.<\/p>\n
The 2003 Annual Session will not be the last for the current
\ncrop of MPR members.<\/p>\n
All the factions have agreed that the General Session of the
\nAssembly next year will be held by the end of September 2004.<\/p>\n
The General Session will listen to accountability statements
\nfrom the President on the implementation of the state policy
\nguidelines (GBHN) and from other institutions.<\/p>\n
It will also hear the report of the constitutional commision
\non the progress made during its six months in existence.<\/p>\n
The General Session will mark the end of the five-year term of
\nAssembly members elected for the 1999-2004 period.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/assembly-starts-annual-session-workload-small-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}