House member dies during tough discussion<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A member of the House of Representatives (DPR)
\ncollapsed and died on Thursday afternoon during the last in a
\nseries of tough sessions deliberating new laws designed to
\nfacilitate a general election in June.<\/p>\n
Idi Siswaya, 59, a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party
\n(PDI) faction, is believed to have died of heart attack.<\/p>\n
He collapsed in the Nusantara II room in the DPR complex
\nduring a heated debate of a new decree setting out civil
\nservants' political rights, a PDI faction spokesman said.<\/p>\n
Y.B. Wiyanjono told reporters at Cipto Mangunkusumo General
\nHospital that Idi was laid on a table in a nearby room after he
\ncollapsed. A few minutes later, he was pronounced dead by a
\ndoctor on duty in the DPR.<\/p>\n
Idi's body was then taken to the hospital for a postmortem
\nexamination and from there to his residence in the DPR housing
\ncomplex in Kalibata, South Jakarta. He will be buried in Bandung,
\nWest Java.<\/p>\n
Wiyanjono said that Idi collapsed in the middle of a heated
\ndebate.<\/p>\n
\"I was just finishing my speech when I saw him slide down
\nslowly from his chair,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that Idi had worked very hard to prepare for the
\nsession.<\/p>\n
\"He might have failed to look after his health. On Wednesday,
\nwe attended a session until after midnight, and today (Thursday)
\nhe was in the office at 8 a.m. for a discussion with the other
\nPDI members,\" Wiyanjono said.<\/p>\n
Idi is survived by his wife, Djuarsih, 59, and eight children.<\/p>\n
He was born in Majalengka, West Java, on June 15, 1939, and
\nbegan his career as a site supervisor in the West Java office of
\nthe Ministry of Public Works in 1959. He entered the political
\narena in 1982 when he was elected onto the Cirebon legislative
\ncouncil, a position which he held for two terms in office.<\/p>\n
In 1992 he was elected a West Java provincial councilor before
\ngoing on to secure a seat in the House in the 1997 general
\nelection. His term in the House was due to run until 2002.<\/p>\n
PDI chairman Budi Hardjono, who went to the hospital along
\nwith PDI Secretary-general Buttu Hutapea and party member Markus
\nWauran, said that Idi was known for his diligence and the
\naccuracy of his work.<\/p>\n
\"When he received a task, he would ask for the task outline
\nand report after he had finished it,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In Bandung a large number of Idi's friends, neighbors and
\nrelatives gathered at his house to convey their condolences.
\n(43\/ivy)<\/p>",
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