DPD set to play important role in political system<\/p>\n
Anton Doni, Head, Research and Development Unit, The Jakarta Post<\/p>\n
Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, who served as minister and secretary-
\ngeneral of the then ruling party Golkar, during the Soeharto era,
\nwas very confident that the new Regional Representatives Council
\n(DPD) would play key role in the country's political system
\ndespite its weak legal position.<\/p>\n
Sarwono, who is still highly regarded by the public despite
\nhis role during the Soeharto era, argues that the fact that DPD
\nmembers are directly elected by the people and their independence
\nfrom political parties will give them strong legitimacy and
\ngreater freedom in serving the public.<\/p>\n
Sarwono himself will run as one of Jakarta's 38 candidates.
\nEach of the country's 32 provinces will have four DPD members.
\nVery few, at least for the moment, agree with Sarwono's optimism.<\/p>\n
The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) -- with the full
\nendorsement of the major political parties -- in its annual
\nsession in 2002 made a historic decision through the passing of
\nthe fourth amendment to the 1945 Constitution by bowing to the
\npublic demand for a direct presidential election. Starting this
\nyear, in July the country will hold its first direct presidential
\nelection.<\/p>\n
The Assembly also changed the composition of the Assembly
\nwhich previously comprised the members of the House of
\nRepresentatives (DPR) and the appointed Assembly members. The
\nappointed MPR members will now be replaced by the Regional
\nRepresentatives Council (DPD). The new system will take effect
\nafter the legislative elections on April 5.<\/p>\n
The major political parties, however, only halfheartedly
\nsupported the establishment of the DPD and over-jealously
\nattempted to restrict its powers and functions. Its membership
\nmust not exceed one third of the total membership of the House
\n(550 members), and all provinces are to be represented by an
\nequal number of DPD members.<\/p>\n
According to Article 22D of the fourth amendment to the
\nConstitution, the Council has the right to propose and discuss
\nwith the House bills on regional autonomy, central-local
\ngovernment relations, the formation, expansion and merging of
\nregions, natural resources management, and inter-governmental
\nfiscal balance.<\/p>\n
The Council, however, is only allowed to put forward opinions
\nand considerations in the case of bills on the state budget,
\ntaxation, education and religion.<\/p>\n
But despite the perceived limited role provided by the legal
\nframework as mentioned above, it is important to note the hidden
\nsignificance and powers of this new institution.<\/p>\n
One aspect is related to long-term prospect. With equal
\nrepresentation for all regions within this body -- each province
\nhas four representatives regardless of the size of the province
\n-- we may hope that this will compensate for the imbalanced
\nrepresentation of the regions within the House.<\/p>\n
This means that while its position in relation to the DPR and
\nother state institutions is weak for the moment and a proper role
\nis still something that will have to be struggled for, early work
\nby this Council in alleviating the representation balance problem
\ncould be quite significant.<\/p>\n
The results of these early exercises will be capable of
\nhighlighting to the public the differences in performance between
\ndirectly elected representatives (DPD) and the "indirectly
\nselected" DPR members (political parties still have the final say
\non the members of the House). A good performance by the DPD will
\nhelp to convince the public that the direct selection of
\nlegislators is much better than using the current system.<\/p>\n
In the short run, the Council's significance will lie in its
\nproviding a bridge between the people, or at least their
\nconstituencies, and the government. As the Council members do not
\nhave links to the political parties, they will be much freer than
\nthe House members in voicing the wishes of the public.<\/p>\n
Another significance corresponds precisely to the limited role
\nof this institution. This limited role implies there will be a
\nlack of equality with the executive in the policy-making
\nprocesses. The DPD has none of the privileges enjoyed by the DPR
\nin summoning officials of the executive, for instance.<\/p>\n
On the one hand, this is a weakness, but from another
\nperspective it could be considered positive in the sense that it
\ncould prevent the DPD members from becoming involved in horse-
\ntrading and corruption. Thus, they will be able to work more
\nconsistently in serving the public interest.<\/p>\n
Considering the significance of the DPD as described above,
\nthere are various reasons for strengthening this institution.<\/p>\n
Several measures may be considered, taking into account the
\nDPD's current weaknesses.<\/p>\n
The first is establishing full access to information. As
\nmentioned, the DPD has limited powers to acquire information from
\nthe executive. The DPD itself, however, could also create its own
\nways to obtain information from the government.<\/p>\n
The second measure involves opening up more access to the
\nmedia. The DPD's limited role can be compensated for by forging
\ngood relations with the media to get public support.<\/p>\n
The third involves capacity building. The Council's members
\nshould be supported by experts as House members are.<\/p>\n
Fourth, to support its long-run legitimacy, a code of conduct
\nneeds to be instituted right from the very start. A violation of
\nthe code of conduct should be followed by expulsion or censure in
\naccordance with the set procedures.<\/p>\n
In addition, the code of conduct should include measurable
\nstandards of accountability to constituents so as to ensure that
\nthis institution always remains close to the real owners of power
\n-- the people.<\/p>",
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