House agrees to decrease commissions to 8<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives has approved an
\ninternal reorganization that would shrink the current 11
\ncommissions to only eight.<\/p>\n
Syamsul Mu'arif, who chairs a special committee in charge of
\ndeliberating the House's internal rule amendments, said yesterday
\nthat fewer commissions would help prevent hurdles in the
\ndecision-making process stemming from the underrepresented
\nIndonesian Democratic Party (PDI).<\/p>\n
The party, beleaguered by protracted internal conflicts,
\ngained only 11 of 425 legislative seats in the May 29 general
\nelection -- not enough to field its representatives in any
\nregular or special sessions.<\/p>\n
Syamsul said the House leadership was expected to give its
\nformal approval of the draft of the internal rule amendments
\ntomorrow. House leaders will then arrange a plenary session to
\npass the amendments, which Syamsul said would take place at the
\nend of the House term on Sept. 30.<\/p>\n
\"House leadership agreed on the draft during our lobbying, and
\nit's almost certain the plenary session will pass it,\" Syamsul of
\nthe Golkar faction said.<\/p>\n
If the regrouping goes into effect, the next House will have
\ncommissions dealing with defense, security and legal affairs;
\nforeign policy and internal affairs; agriculture, food and
\ntransmigration; transportation and infrastructure; trade and
\nindustry, which includes cooperatives; social welfare; religious
\naffairs and education, including technology; and finance, state
\nbudget and statistics.<\/p>\n
Syamsul said the tiny PDI faction did not deserve any
\nchairmanship seat in the eight commissions. Four of the seats
\nwill go to the dominant Golkar faction, while the United
\nDevelopment Party and the Armed Forces will receive two seats
\nrespectively.<\/p>\n
Golkar, which won the majority of votes in the May election,
\nwill field 325 legislators in the next House's five-year period,
\nwhich starts on Oct. 1. PPP will have 89 members, while the Armed
\nForces, whose members do not vote, secured 75 House seats
\nreserved for it.<\/p>\n
After the regrouping, each commission will comprise an average
\nof 60 legislators, 15 more than the previous commission
\nmembership average.<\/p>\n
Syamsul said a bigger commission should not diminish the right
\nof each commission member to speak out because the amended rule
\nstipulates longer working hours.<\/p>\n
Legislators will work from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and have extra
\nhours from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.<\/p>\n
\"Efficiency is another reason for the regrouping of the
\ncommissions,\" Syamsul said of the extended working hours.<\/p>\n
The amended rule maintains the minimum attendance of more than
\nhalf of commission members who represent all of the four House
\nfactions. It, however, adds a clause that whenever PDI
\nrepresentatives fail to show up, a session will only need a
\nletter of approval from the faction's leadership.<\/p>\n
\"It's unfair if a session is canceled merely because of the
\nabsence of a PDI legislator. A tyranny of the minority must not
\noccur,\" Syamsul said.<\/p>\n
The amended internal rule also simplifies procedures for
\nlegislators to exercise their rights. Only ten people are
\nrequired for the House to demand for a government explanation
\nover a certain policy, to make a statement of support or
\nopposition against a policy, to propose an investigation and to
\nsponsor a bill.<\/p>\n
Except for the right to hold an inquiry on government
\npolicies, the last three rights require support from at least two
\nfactions.<\/p>\n
According to the new draft, a commission is obligated to
\nreceive public complaints on issues under its jurisdiction,
\nunless the public means to meet a certain faction.<\/p>\n
Syamsul said the House rejected a PPP proposal to allow the
\nlegislative body to draw up its own budget. According to Syamsul,
\nhowever, the government promised to allocate more funds to each
\nfaction. (amd)<\/p>",
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