House of Representatives kicks off busy session<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives kicked off a new
\nworking session yesterday with a tight schedule to enact various
\nbills that are now piling up on its doorstep.<\/p>\n
House Speaker Wahono, opening a plenary session for the annual
\nbudget speech by President Soeharto, acknowledged that the House had
\nbeen bogged down in deliberating the Bill on Limited Companies.<\/p>\n
He said he has set an early February deadline to have the
\nlegislation on it passed so that the House can get on with the
\ndeliberation of other bills which are equally urgent.<\/p>\n
He said the deliberation over the Bill on Limited Companies, which
\nbegan last May, has taken considerable time largely because of the
\ncomplexity of the issues at hand.<\/p>\n
The bill, which will replace the previous law enacted in 1939,
\ngoverns the terms, establishment procedures, capital and management
\nof a limited company.<\/p>\n
"When this bill is passed, the House stands ready to deal with
\nother bills which are closely related to economic matters," he said,
\nciting legislation on capital market and amendment bills to the
\ncurrent laws on patent, property rights and trademarks.<\/p>\n
Wahono also underlined the need to quickly amend the laws on
\nforeign and domestic investments "as soon as possible since they are
\noutdated."<\/p>\n
Many of the terms of the investment laws, enacted in 1967 and
\n1968, contradict the new General Agreement on Tariff and Trade
\n(GATT) which came into force on Jan. 1 and of which Indonesia is a
\nsignatory. GATT calls for sweeping global liberalization in the
\ntrade and investment sectors.<\/p>\n
All the bills were presented to the House by the government. The
\nHouse has recently risen to the challenge of speeding up
\ndeliberations on legislative bills. The tax laws that came into
\nforce on Jan. 1, was passed after only three months of
\ndeliberations.<\/p>\n
Wahono yesterday emphasized the need for the House to process as
\nmany bills as possible this year, especially to replace old laws
\nwhich were enacted during the Dutch colonial rule.<\/p>\n
He cited examples such as the laws on customs and excise which
\nwere enacted in 1886, and the 1917 penal law.<\/p>\n
There were laws given top priority which were enacted quickly,
\nsuch as one on national waters to follow up on the 1982 UN
\nConvention on the Law of the Sea, the law on civil code to regulate
\neasy, swift and inexpensive civil litigation, and the laws on
\nbroadcasting and consumers' protection.<\/p>\n
Then there is of course the bill on the government's 1995\/96
\nbudget plan which was presented by President Soeharto to the House
\nyesterday. The bill must be passed before the start of the fiscal
\nyear on April 1.(emb)<\/p>",
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