First money, now House blames public for failures<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives (DPR) ended its session on Friday
\nwith House Speaker Akbar Tandjung blaming the public for its
\nlegislative shortcomings.<\/p>\n
The house managed to approve only three out of 22 bills
\ntargeted to be completed during the sitting that started on May
\n13, Akbar acknowledged.<\/p>\n
\"The target couldn't be fulfilled as the deliberation process
\ntakes time for intense discussion and the accommodation of input
\nfrom the public,\" said Akbar in closing the session.<\/p>\n
His statement was markedly different from the earlier excuse
\ngiven during a consultation meeting with President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
During the meeting, the House leaders had asked for more money
\nso as to ensure the speedier passage of bills.<\/p>\n
President Megawati, who revealed the request during a press
\nconference, did not specifically mention the amount of money
\nsought or whether she had approved the request.<\/p>\n
The poor performance of the legislators in carrying out their
\nlegislative functions has become the target of much public
\ncriticism. The inability of the House to fulfill its legislative
\nprogram is widely see as the result of its penchant for political
\nbickering.<\/p>\n
In the previous session, which lasted from January 7 to March
\n28, the House only managed the passage of 4 bills.<\/p>\n
But this session was even worse as the legislators only passed
\nthree bills into law. They were the bills on calculation of the
\n2000 state budget, the national scientific and technological
\nsystem, and copyright.<\/p>\n
Under the 16-month presidency of B.J. Habibie, the government
\nand the legislators managed to enact 68 laws.<\/p>\n
Akbar, a defendant in a Rp 40 billion (US$4.4 million)
\nfinancial scandal in the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), pointed
\nout that currently the House was preparing to deliberate 47 bills
\nduring the next sitting, which runs from Aug. 16 through Sept.
\n27.<\/p>\n
Of these bills, 29 were drafted by the legislators themselves.<\/p>\n
According to Akbar, the House would focus on the deliberation
\nof the bills on political parties and elections as these two
\nbills were urgently needed in the run-up to the 2004 general
\nelection.<\/p>\n
In addition, he said, bills on the presidency, electricity,
\nthe central bank and state loans would also be prioritized.<\/p>\n
In other parts of his speech, Akbar revealed that he had
\nreceived a letter from President Megawati asking legislators to
\ndelay the deliberation of the presidency bill until the amendment
\nto the 1945 Constitution had been completed.<\/p>\n
This is the second such request from Megawati following a
\nsimilar request last January.<\/p>\n
Megawati argued in the letter that if the House went ahead
\nwith the deliberation of the presidency bill, it could find
\nitself in conflict with the amended Constitution.<\/p>\n
The presidency bill consists of nine chapters and 49 articles
\nthat regulates everything related to the powers and the
\ninstitution of the presidency.<\/p>\n
The bill also places restrictions on the gifts that the
\npresident may accept from counterparts. The bill sets the maximum
\nvalue at Rp 25 million.<\/p>\n
It further sets out the requirements that the president must
\ncomply with in appointing cabinet ministers, the military
\ncommander and the police chief.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/first-money-now-house-blames-public-for-failures-1447893297",
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