Irresponsible politicians<\/p>\n
While President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has announced a broad
\noutline of his Cabinet's blueprint for his administration's first
\n100 days in office, what has the House of Representatives done in
\nthe 30 days since its installment?<\/p>\n
Practically nothing. There appears to be nothing more
\nimportant in the minds of House and factions members than to
\nsatisfy their egos and lust for power. Although they have been in
\ntheir positions for one month, they have obviously forgotten
\ntheir pledge to put the interests of the people first.<\/p>\n
Legislators are squabbling over the chairmanships of House
\ncommissions, leaving the House divided into two coalitions: the
\nNationhood Coalition and the People's Coalition. Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri's failure to maintain her presidential seat in the
\nSept. 20 election runoff is apparently strongly influencing the
\ncurrent deadlock in the House.<\/p>\n
The Nationhood Coalition comprises Megawati's Indonesia
\nDemocratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Golkar and some smaller
\nparties. This coalition supported Megawati in the election, while
\nthe People's Coalition comprises Susilo's Democratic Party and
\nsome Muslim-based parties. Megawati's failure was apparently so
\nbitter for her that she refused to openly acknowledge Susilo's
\nvictory.<\/p>\n
It appears that Megawati's personal sentiment is strongly
\nreflected in her party's position in the House. Golkar leader
\nAkbar Tandjung displayed similar feelings for different reasons
\nafter he was pushed out of the presidential race by rivals within
\nhis own party.<\/p>\n
Golkar's support for Megawati in the Sept. 20 runoff did not
\nhelp her much in the election. And as if the humiliation of
\nlosing even with this support was not enough, Susilo proceeded to
\npick ministers from Golkar without consulting Akbar.<\/p>\n
At this early stage, we would like to remind Megawati and
\nAkbar about their commitment to being statesmen. Will they ignore
\nthe interests of the nation just to convey their disappointment?<\/p>\n
We would also like to appeal to the leaders of other political
\nparties with factions in the House to act responsibly, since
\nthere is every indication that they may abuse the power bestowed
\nupon them by voters.<\/p>\n
The reason we are appealing to party leaders and not
\nlegislators is because, according to the House's new standing
\norders, political parties have the authority to recall their
\nlegislators, a reversal from the old standing orders under which
\nlegislators were relatively independent. Perhaps many legislators
\ndo not agree with their party's position in this standoff but
\nmust remain loyal lest they lose their seats.<\/p>\n
Party leaders should realize that people are closely watching
\nthe politicians. Voters proved to be mature and responsible in
\nthis year's elections, and it is only reasonable for them to
\nexpect that the legislators they voted into office to represent
\nthem behave likewise.<\/p>\n
Whatever arguments, rationale or pretexts the politicians make
\nto defend their indefensible actions in the House, we call on
\nthem to remember that the fate of 220 million is in their hands.<\/p>\n
People have entrusted Susilo to lead them for the next five
\nyears, and we hope the legislators as the people's
\nrepresentatives work hard to ensure that Susilo stays on track to
\nmake good on his promises.<\/p>\n
However, judging from recent events, people have good reason
\nto doubt that the current House will perform any better than the
\nprevious one.<\/p>\n
The House factions must work together to find at least a win-
\nwin solution to the deadlock. The nation just started a new five-
\nyear journey to reach its goal to become a better and more
\nprosperous nation. The House is on the front line when it comes
\nto working with the President and his administration in putting
\nan end to the prolonged economic, political and security turmoil.<\/p>\n
Politicians should be ideologically firm on key policy issues
\nthat directly affect the people. But compromise should be the
\nrule of thumb in areas where the stakes are simply political
\npower.<\/p>\n
At this early stage, it is important for political leaders to
\nlook in the mirror and ask themselves, \"What have I done for my
\nnation?\" Sorry to say, we see a tendency for some of them to say,
\n\"What should I do to destroy this government?\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/irresponsible-politicians-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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