House fails to meet legislation target<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A lack of discipline coupled with political rivalry among
\nlegislators has led to a failure by the House of Representatives
\n(DPR) to meet its target of completing the deliberation of 24
\nbills before a recess period begins on March 29.<\/p>\n
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung pledged at the outset of the
\ncurrent session term on Jan. 7 that the legislators had the
\ncommitment to boost their legislative efficiency, along with
\nbudget drafting, and supervisory functions.<\/p>\n
Akbar also vowed to finish deliberation of the 24 bills on
\nvarious issues, including money laundering, electricity, and
\ncommissions for the corruption of eradication.<\/p>\n
Until Wednesday, however, only two less important bills -- one
\non tax court, the other a treaty involving space exploration --
\nhad been endorsed into laws.<\/p>\n
Ma'ruf, a staff member of the House secretariat, confirmed
\nthat only three other bills could possibly be completed by March
\n28.<\/p>\n
"The three bills deal with property rights, money laundering,
\nand a national system of science and technology," he told The
\nJakarta Post on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Ma'ruf added that an exact schedule for the deliberation would
\nbe decided on Thursday by the House steering committee.<\/p>\n
The highly prioritized bills on money laundering and also on
\ncommission for the eradication of corruption, however, are still
\nin the process of initial deliberation.<\/p>\n
The two bills are said to affect the disbursement of US$3.14
\nbillion and $600 million in loans from the Consultative Group on
\nIndonesia and the Asian Development Bank, respectively.<\/p>\n
Although the legislative body had on March 11 passed 10 bills
\non the establishment of 22 regencies throughout the country, they
\nwere not of the priority mentioned by Akbar.<\/p>\n
This poor achievement revealed the legislators' apparent
\ninability to distinguish between bills which were urgently
\nneeded, and others which could be delayed.<\/p>\n
Legislator Paturungi Parawansa of Golkar admitted that low
\ndiscipline among the legislators had contributed to the snail's
\npace deliberation of those bills.<\/p>\n
Parawansa, a member of the 32-strong committee in charge of
\nproperty rights deliberations, said that his committee often
\ndelayed its meetings only because very few members showed up.<\/p>\n
"If the meeting fails to meet a quorum, it's impossible to
\nreach any decisions," he added.<\/p>\n
It has become common practice among legislators to sign the
\npresence list in a House meeting, but then skip to attend a
\ndifferent meeting, or some other unrelated event.<\/p>\n
Political rivalry among legislators, especially with regard to
\na proposal to set up a committee of inquiry into the Rp 40
\nbillion scandal involving Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung,
\nworsened the already poor conditions.<\/p>\n
Lengthy debates on whether or not to set up the inquiry
\ncommittee have also consumed much time and energy, thereby
\ndistracting the legislators from focusing on their own duties.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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