House does not need code of ethics<\/p>\n
Following bribery allegations of some members of the House of
\nRepresentatives (DPR), leaders of all four factions of the House
\nhave approved a plan to set up an ethics code for legislators.
\nYusril Ihza Mahendra, a constitutional law professor at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia, discusses the necessity of such a code.<\/p>\n
Question: What should be included in the planned code of
\nethics to help improve the credibility of House members?<\/p>\n
Yusril: I don't think the DPR needs a code of ethics because
\nits members are not professionals like journalists or medical
\ndoctors. DPR members are officials elected by citizens to
\nrepresent their interests. They, therefore, have to do their jobs
\nin accordance with laws and other regulations.<\/p>\n
Q: So, you think efforts of the House leaders to formulate a code
\nof ethics would be meaningless?<\/p>\n
Y: Useless, yes. If the DPR had a code of ethics, who would apply
\nsanctions against legislators violating it? As a comparison, if a
\njournalist violates the journalistic code of ethics, the honorary
\ncouncil of the Indonesian Journalist Association would decide a
\npunishment for him or her. Would there be any institution which
\ncould apply sanctions against DPR members? So, I do not see the
\nuse of a code of ethics for DPR members.<\/p>\n
Q: What rules should the DPR establish to control the conduct of
\nits members?<\/p>\n
Y: None. There have been laws and other regulations that they
\nhave to comply with in carrying out their jobs. The most
\nimportant thing is enforcing those laws and regulations. If there
\nare legislators involved in bribery while deliberating bills, for
\nexample, the Criminal Act would be enough to take action against
\nthem. Just try them at court and enforce the law. So, the problem
\nhas nothing to do with any code of ethics but it concerns the
\nlaw.<\/p>\n
If a legislator's conduct brings any disgrace to his or her
\nfaction, the faction or party to which he or she belongs can
\nrecall that legislator.<\/p>\n
Q: DPR leaders are also looking for ways to strengthen their
\ninfluence over the government to make its supervision more
\neffective. What do you think about that?<\/p>\n
Y: That's good because, at least, they have shown a commitment to
\ndo things better. It is too early for us to evaluate their jobs
\nnow since the House members only began their term of office two
\nmonths ago.<\/p>\n
Q: If there is an impression among the public that the House is
\nweaker than the government, is it because the quality of its
\nmembers are inferior or because government officials are too
\narrogant?<\/p>\n
Y: That problem is very complicated and cannot be solved in a
\nshort period of time. If we want to improve the performance of
\nthe House, we would have to make revisions from the very
\nbeginning. The method of general elections and the law on the
\nstructures and the positions of the People's Consultative
\nAssembly, the House of Representatives and local legislative
\ncouncils, for example, need revision. There are many things that
\nforce the DPR to perform its tasks below its optimum capacity.<\/p>\n
If there is any effort to improve its performance, it would be
\njust a measure to overcome problems caused by loopholes of some
\nregulations.<\/p>\n
Q: What are the weaknesses of our method of general elections and
\nhow should we improve it?<\/p>\n
Y: The current proportional system of elections using pictures
\n(as symbols of the elected parties) does not clearly show which
\nof the listed candidates would really become members of the DPR.
\nIt is also not clear that DPR members are representing the voting
\npeople.<\/p>\n
I, therefore, have long suggested that general elections be
\nbased on a district system, in which voters would directly elect
\ntheir representatives from their own districts.<\/p>\n
The district method would better guarantee that the elected
\ncandidates would really represent the voting people. Furthermore,
\ntendency towards nepotism would diminish because DPR members are
\ndirectly elected by the people.<\/p>\n
For the first time, a test could be conducted by combining
\nboth the proportional and the district methods. The proportional
\nmethod, for instance, could be conducted at regencies and the
\ndistrict method at mayoralties. By so doing, we could compare
\nwhich of the two methods would be more appropriate for our
\nnation. (riz)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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