JP\/ \/DPR<\/p>\n
MPR\/DPR - A spectacle of turbulence and contention.<\/p>\n
Meidyatama Suryodiningrat
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Some 250 years-ago American James Madison wrote that
\ndemocracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and
\ncontention.<\/p>\n
Madison's prophetic discourse on the peril of an assembly
\nundermining democratic values, aptly portray the current plight
\nof Indonesia's highest democratic institutions.<\/p>\n
His forewarning of "no cure for the mischief of factions" ring
\ntrue.<\/p>\n
The esteemed members of the People's Consultative Assembly and
\nHouse of Representatives in 2001 not only turned themselves into
\na spectacle, but at times a shameless fist-to-cuffs farce, making
\na mockery of the suffering many have endured to erect the
\ndemocratic process.<\/p>\n
The pinnacle for 2001 must be the accomplishment of the 700-
\nmember Assembly, 500 of whom are members of the House, in brewing
\nwhat in essence was a constitutional coup on a president losing a
\ngrip on both his power and senses.<\/p>\n
After hounding Abdurrahman Wahid for over six months on
\nalleged misuse of funds, the Assembly finally threw the gauntlet
\non the blind cleric's fervid presidency.<\/p>\n
What had threatened to become a protracted national crisis,
\nhowever, was quickly absolved as Abdurrahman had few allies left
\nin the Assembly.<\/p>\n
But the success of turning a potential powder-keg into a
\nsmooth leadership transition was not so much the suave role of
\nlegislators, but the refusal of the military and police to
\nexecute Abdurrahman's order to dissolve the House.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman's departure was followed by the automatic
\nascendance of Megawati Soekarnoputri.<\/p>\n
How she must have felt standing before, and receiving the
\nalmost unanimous support of the Assembly, knowing that 18-months
\nearlier many of them successfully sabotaged her presidential
\ncandidacy.<\/p>\n
The 2001 leadership change was the apex of the preponderance
\nthe Assembly and the House has garnered in the reform era.<\/p>\n
A power which has tilted the delicate system of checks and
\nbalances with legislators becoming a lethal constraint on
\ngovernment, but itself unparalleled by any other institution.<\/p>\n
Some would argue this is by design as the constitution clearly
\nplaces the Assembly in divine power over the nation.<\/p>\n
But it also raises the dangerous specter of tyranny by
\nassembly, particularly one which includes non-elected members.<\/p>\n
Disillusioned by their initial support for Abdurrahman's
\nfailed administration, the leadership change motivated the
\nAssembly and House to yield a greater show of commitment to
\nsupport Megawati.<\/p>\n
Coupled with the fact that the Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle, the party she chairs, is the largest faction in both
\nthe Assembly and the House, legislators have so far been less
\nfeisty in badgering the government.<\/p>\n
How long this spirited cooperation lasts remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
But when they do end it, their remarks will definitely start
\nby trumpeting their favorite rallying cry: "in the name of the
\npeople."<\/p>\n
We repeatedly hear our representatives claim to speak for "the
\npeople's interest".<\/p>\n
Based on the concept of a "general will" -- what people want
\nif they knew what was best -- this notion injects legislators
\nwith a sense of righteousness to exercise their politicking.<\/p>\n
But our elected representatives, self admittedly, are not
\nagents of the voting mass. They are tokens for the party which
\nushered them in.<\/p>\n
Thus rather than the people's interest, the rationale of their
\nexploits seem closer to Karl Marx's notion of "false
\nconsciousness" -- the people's desires are false as they don't
\nknow what they want and only these distinguished members of the
\nassembly do.<\/p>\n
False notions of their exalted position makes many forget that
\ntheir presence in the legislative chambers is to serve the public
\ninterest.<\/p>\n
Their oversight breeds politics at its worst -- "war by other
\nmeans" -- with parties sabotaging each other or making backroom
\ndeals for personal political benefit.<\/p>\n
How many times this year have the public we been victims of
\nacts or legislative products devised by backroom handshakes.<\/p>\n
Take the National Police bill. It was controversial from the
\nstart as it placed maintenance of security and order as the
\npredominant police duty ahead of serving and protecting the
\npublic.<\/p>\n
Legislators recognized the concerns and seemed to heed the
\ncriticisms when it initially delayed the bill and formed a team
\nfor further review.<\/p>\n
But weeks later it was quietly passed untouched. The delay
\nturned to be a ruse, not to mention that some political agenda
\nmay be afoot.<\/p>\n
Another case was the four rounds of debates needed by a House
\nsteering committee to merely decide whether an inquiry into
\nalleged graft by House Speaker Akbar Tandjung should even be
\nconsidered.<\/p>\n
The case is an ethical challenge, which will continue in 2002,
\non whether the House is willing to pursue alleged abuse of power
\namong its own ranks with the same vigor that it does in other
\ninstitutions.<\/p>\n
The new House Code of Conduct provides a basis for supervising
\nlegislators' behavior. But ultimately it depends on the sincerity
\nof those who practice them.<\/p>\n
The paradox in discipline was no more evident than in the the
\nlast session of the House a fortnight ago.<\/p>\n
During the plenary session several legislators urged their
\ncolleagues to be more punctual and disciplined in meetings.<\/p>\n
"The House leaders must learn to be punctual. If it is
\nscheduled to begin at 9 a.m. they must attend on time," Suratal
\nHW of PDI Perjuangan said.<\/p>\n
But his remarks were made in front of a half empty assembly
\nhall.<\/p>\n
The attendance sheet showed that only 248 out of the 488 House
\nmembers due to attend were present for the last plenary session
\nof 2001.<\/p>\n
Former legislator Yahya Zaini lamented the lack of discipline
\nof House members in attending meetings.<\/p>\n
Yahya, who served in the House between 1997 to 1999, said
\naverage attendance in the past was around 70 percent. But in the
\ncurrent House it had dwindled to the minimal quorum of just over
\n50 percent.<\/p>\n
Is this what is expected of people who's average minimum
\nmonthly income is Rp 15 million, about twice higher than
\nIndonesia's annual percapita income.<\/p>\n
Not surprisingly they have been repeatedly criticized for
\nlacking a sense of crisis.<\/p>\n
Numerous commissions continue to take various "comparative
\nstudies" abroad on people's expense.<\/p>\n
How necessary is a visit by about a dozen legislators to
\nAustralia to see how much parliamentarians there get paid?<\/p>\n
How wealthy do legislators have to be before they remember
\nthat they are also obliged to pass legislation?<\/p>\n
Even House speaker Akbar Tandjung concedes that the House has
\nlagged in this primary duty.<\/p>\n
Akbar does not agree with critics who say that the House's
\noverzealous control of the government has left its law making
\ntasks neglected.<\/p>\n
"This is not entirely true," he says while adding that the
\nHouse's control functioned has also not impeded the executive
\nfrom conducting its job.<\/p>\n
But the fact remains that only 30 bills were passed in 2001,
\nwith about 30 more waiting.<\/p>\n
The progeny of our first democratic general election in 44-
\nyears may continue to erode our faith, but Indonesians must
\nretain hope in the democratic process for the ills of an
\n"assembly" is not ours alone as it has been persistent through
\nhistory.<\/p>\n
Just as Plato over a thousand years ago remained faithful in
\nthe belief that the trouble with democracy was not the absence of
\nthe rule of law, but that the wrong people are running it --
\nthose who have little virtues.<\/p>\n
We may also take heart, as Mark Twain in his typical satire
\nwrote: "Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member
\nof Congress, but I repeat myself!"<\/p>\n
I-BOX<\/p>\n
Some key legislation passed by DPR in 2001<\/p>\n
* The establishment of Banten Province.
\n* Human Rights Tribunal Bill
\n* The establishment of Banten Province.
\n* The establishment of Gorontalo Province.
\n* Special Autonomy for Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam
\n* Special Autonomy for Irian Jaya
\n* Oil and Gas Bill
\n* National Police Bill
\n* State Security Bill<\/p>",
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