Groups rush to submit draft laws to House<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Private groups are rushing to submit their
\ndrafts of the new political laws to the House of Representatives
\n(DPR), making the best of the government's failure to meet the
\ndeadline which it set itself last month.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, activists and lawyers grouped in the Consortium
\nof National Legal Reform met members of the Golkar faction. They
\nsubmitted their drafts of laws on general elections; the function
\nand composition of the House, the People's Consultative Assembly
\n(MPR) and the regional legislative councils (DPRD); and on
\npolitical parties.<\/p>\n
The Association of Moslem Students (HMI) met with members of
\nthe Armed Forces faction and the Muhammadiyah organization met
\nwith the Deputy House Speaker Hari Sabarno, also of the Armed
\nForces.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Minister\/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung said
\n\"technical glitches\" had prevented the draft laws from being
\nsubmitted to the House. He promised the laws would be submitted
\nlater this week.<\/p>\n
The consortium of lawyers proposed a maximum sentence of five
\nyears imprisonment for anyone found guilty of rigging election
\nresults.<\/p>\n
The same sentence applies to anyone found guilty of
\nobstructing elections; of trying to prevent a voter from voting
\nfreely and in secrecy; and \"for those claiming to be someone
\nelse\" when registering to vote.<\/p>\n
Members of the consortium include lawyers such as Tumbu
\nSaraswati and Bambang Widjojanto, who heads the Indonesian Legal
\nAid Foundation, and activists M.M. Billah and H.C. Princen.<\/p>\n
A sentence of three years in jail is proposed for anyone who
\n\"gives or promises anything to anyone to influence the use of
\nthat person's vote.\"<\/p>\n
Three years imprisonment is also suggested for those proven
\nguilty of manipulating a vote so that it is rendered invalid.<\/p>\n
Following last year's elections, up to 25 different types of
\nviolations were recorded by the Independent Monitoring Committee
\n(KIPP). The offenses were committed by various parties, including
\nthe government. Violations included multiple voting, the counting
\nof ballots in secret and the intimidation of witnesses and
\nvoters.<\/p>\n
The draft laws submitted by the Association of Moslem Students
\n(HMI) echoed earlier demands that officers in the Armed Forces
\n(ABRI) should no longer be eligible to sit as members of the
\nHouse.<\/p>\n
A. Kholid Muhammad, who coordinated the drafting of HMI's
\nsubmission, said the association rejected the concept of the
\nfloating mass which applied under the New Order, which it said
\nwas used to prevent political parties from operating in villages.<\/p>\n
\"The floating mass concept has been manipulated and abused,\"
\nKholid said, adding that it had resulted in all public activities
\nbeing spied upon, especially in rural areas.<\/p>\n
The association also urged to revise the proportional system
\nwith an emphasis on political parties used by the former regime,
\nwhich it said had resulted in \"feudal\" communication between
\npoliticians and the masses. It said that because representatives
\nwere appointed less for their abilities and more for their
\nconnections, local party leaders had built up their own empires
\nof loyal followers and become \"little kings.\" (anr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/groups-rush-to-submit-draft-laws-to-house-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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