House set to flunk legislation target, again<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives is well on its way to failing in its
\nlawmaking function, with zero laws passed and only a few bills
\ndrafted since its 550 members took office in October.<\/p>\n
Bitter political bickering among lawmakers, grouped into two
\nrival camps opposed to and in support of the current government,
\nhas interfered with their legislative work.<\/p>\n
During a plenary session on Tuesday, the House submitted bills
\non teachers and on the revision of Law No. 7\/1989 on religious
\ncourts, for deliberation during the fourth sitting period that
\nwill end on July 8.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the House announced that four other bills
\nwere scheduled to be discussed, namely one bill on the 2005 state
\nbudget revision, one on disaster management, one on the 2005-2025
\nnational development program and one on the establishment of
\nreligious courts in North Maluku, Banten, Gorontalo and Bangka
\nBelitung provinces.<\/p>\n
The National Legislation Program, enacted by the House
\nlegislation body in January, consists of 284 bills that are
\nprioritized for enactment during the 2005-2009 period as a
\nreference for lawmakers in enacting laws.<\/p>\n
Fifty-five bills have been prioritized for enactment over the
\ncourse of this year, a task that remains far from completed.<\/p>\n
House legislation body chairman Muhammad A.S. Hikam said
\nchances were remote that the 55 bills would be passed this year,
\nand put the blame on House commissions and the government.<\/p>\n
The legislation body was tasked to come up with draft bills on
\nits own initiative, but the main players in producing them were
\nHouse commissions and the government, he said.<\/p>\n
\"We put out a list of bills prioritized for enactment. The
\nrealization is up to the House and the government, because they
\nwill be the ones to discuss and finalize the bills. We'll see if
\nhaving a National Legislation Program helps the House to perform
\nbetter,\" he said.<\/p>\n
It was the legislation body, said Hikam, that produced the
\nbill on the establishment of religious courts in four provinces.<\/p>\n
\"What's worse is that we racked our brains and went through
\nthe hassle of coming up with a bill, but we don't get to discuss
\nit with the government as the job was given to a House commission
\ninstead,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Among the 55 bills listed in the National Legislation Program
\nare indeed pivotal ones, such as the revision of Law No. 17\/2003
\non state finances, on state secrecy, on freedom of information,
\non immigration and on witness protection.<\/p>\n
Other bills are on health, on the capital market, on human
\ntrafficking, on forestry and on the revision of the Criminal
\nCode.<\/p>\n
\"I got tired of reminding House Commission I (for information
\nand security) to draft the bill on freedom of information, and it
\nwas all to no avail,\" said Hikam, a member of the commission.<\/p>\n
He said the legislation body took the initiative to draft
\nbills on the presidency, the presidential advisory board and on
\nministerial offices, all of which are also prioritized for this
\nyear.<\/p>\n
The House's failure in its lawmaking function, and in other
\nareas, is nothing new.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers have been much criticized for being sluggish in
\ncarrying out their duties to produce comprehensive bills --
\nnumerous revisions to and annulments of articles in laws by the
\nConstitutional Court have been easy and common in the past year.<\/p>\n
The House's plenary session on Tuesday was adjourned because
\nfewer than 100 of its 550 members remained in their seats or even
\nbothered to attend.<\/p>",
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