Communism debate delays political parties bill<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post,
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives (DPR) on Tuesday postponed the
\nendorsement of the bill on political parties until Thursday as
\nlegislators failed to reach agreement on including a decree
\nbanning communism in the preamble to the bill.<\/p>\n
Speaking during a plenary meeting on Tuesday, House deputy
\nspeaker A.M. Fatwa revealed that the House leadership had
\nreceived a letter from the special committee deliberating the
\nbill requesting that its endorsement be postponed.<\/p>\n
\"The bill (on political parties) will now be endorsed on Nov.
\n28,\" Fatwa added.<\/p>\n
Separately, the chairman of the special committee deliberating
\nthe bill, Yahya Zaini, confirmed that he had given committee
\nmembers time to consult with their factions over the remaining
\nunsettled issues.<\/p>\n
He added that the committee members would then report the
\nresults of their consultations to the committee on Wednesday and
\nthe committee would once again debate the issue later on the same
\nday.<\/p>\n
Yahya emphasized that the subject of disagreement among the
\ncommittee members was not the substance of the bill but rather
\nits preamble.<\/p>\n
All the factions, except the largest faction, the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), agreed to include
\ntwo decrees of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) on the
\noutlawing of communism and annual reports by state institutions
\nrespectively in the bill's preamble.<\/p>\n
The two decrees are Assembly Decree XXV\/MPRS\/1966 on the
\ndissolution of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and the
\noutlawing of communism and Marxism\/Leninism, and TAP X\/MPR\/2001
\non annual reports by state institutions.<\/p>\n
A PDI Perjuangan official insisted on Tuesday that it would be
\ncounterproductive for the bill to incorporate the two Assembly
\ndecrees.<\/p>\n
\"There is a debate between the government and the House
\nregarding the use of Assembly decrees as a legal basis for laws,\"
\nthe party's deputy secretary-general Pramono Anung said after the
\nparty's weekly meeting.<\/p>\n
He said that the party was stressing the fact that after 2003
\nAssembly decrees would no longer be valid, and the new electoral
\nsystem to be introduced in 2004 would make such decrees even more
\nirrelevant.<\/p>\n
\"That's why we should not include these decrees in the bill as
\nthey could create difficulties regarding its implementation.<\/p>\n
\"We are not rejecting the contents of the bill, but simply
\nwant to remove the Assembly decrees as legal bases for the bill,\"
\nPramono added.<\/p>\n
Key points of the political parties bill<\/p>\n
According to the bill, all political parties must register
\nthemselves with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. The
\nGeneral Elections Commission will then examine the administrative
\nand other requirements to see whether they are qualified to
\ncontest the 2004 elections.<\/p>\n
The commission will also be responsible for assessing their
\nfinancial soundness and campaign fund reports.<\/p>\n
Then, the Ministry of Home Affairs assesses possible
\nviolations of the rules on funding, and the ideology of the
\npolitical parties.<\/p>\n
Key articles:<\/p>\n
Article 12:<\/p>\n
A member of a political party who becomes a member of the House
\nof Representatives can be dismissed from the House if:<\/p>\n
a. his membership of the party comes to an end or he joins
\nanother political party; or<\/p>\n
b. he is dismissed from his party for violating the party's
\nrules; or<\/p>\n
c. he breaks the law leading to his dismissal from his party.<\/p>\n
Article 18:<\/p>\n
(1) Donations from members and non-members must not exceed Rp 200
\nmillion (US$22,200) in one year.<\/p>\n
(2) Donations from companies and enterprises must not exceed Rp
\n800 million in one year. (with the exception of state companies,
\nand local government-owned companies).<\/p>\n
Article 28:<\/p>\n
(1) Anyone who donates more than Rp 200 million to a political
\nparty faces two month's in prison or a Rp 200 million fine.<\/p>\n
(2) A party executive who accepts a donation exceeding the set
\nlimit faces six month's in jail or a Rp 500 million fine.<\/p>",
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