JP\/\/HOUSE<\/p>\n
When will the 'play group' move up a grade?<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Former president Abdurrahman Wahid had such a difficult time
\nfinding a polite word to describe the House of Representatives
\nthat, back in 2001, he called it a \"kindergarten\".<\/p>\n
Gus Dur, as the former president is known, was referring to
\nthe enthusiastic legislators who, in the name of freedom of
\nspeech, took every opportunity to interrupt plenary meetings.<\/p>\n
The lawmakers did not take too kindly to the joke and
\nfiguratively kicked and screamed about it, thus helping to prove
\nGus Dur's point.<\/p>\n
Looking at its track record from 1999 to 2004, it is easy to
\nsee how members of the former House might have been mistaken for
\nchildren, the way they keep repeating the same mistake.<\/p>\n
Despite constant public criticism, they continued to put their
\nlegislative duties after political interests. Every time they
\nfinished a sitting period, there was a big gap between how many
\nbills they hoped to endorse and how many bills they actually
\nendorsed.<\/p>\n
According to data from the House Secretariat, from 1999 to
\n2004 the House was unable to deliberate or finish deliberation of
\na record 61 bills, 50 of which were prepared by House members
\nthemselves.<\/p>\n
Of these bills, 24 concerned the establishment of autonomous
\nregions, either provinces, regencies, or municipalities. Two of
\nthe 61 bills require more discussion, 19 have to be revised, 27
\nbills have not received the government's response and only two
\nbills are in the process of deliberation.<\/p>\n
The statistics don't lie about the poor performance of the
\nHouse, which also failed the quality test.<\/p>\n
The Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies (PSHK) said
\nHouse lawmakers, who won their seats in 1999 in the first
\ndemocratic election since 1955, produced inadequate legislation.<\/p>\n
PSHK, a non-governmental organization that observes the
\nperformance of the House, said the legislature produced 171 laws
\nbetween 1999 and 2004 and many of these laws failed to live up to
\npeople's demands and future challenges.<\/p>\n
An indication of the poor quality of the legislation is the
\nnumber of laws brought to the Constitutional Court for judicial
\nreview.<\/p>\n
After just a year of existence, the Constitutional Court
\nexamined 44 cases, 22 of which were settled in favor of the
\nplaintiffs.<\/p>\n
Poor discipline, demonstrated by the high rate of absenteeism,
\nand political bickering among factions were often blamed for the
\nHouse's mediocre legislative record.<\/p>\n
The House often failed to meet the quorum and promptly delayed
\nmeetings that were scheduled to discuss important issues.<\/p>\n
They were forced to postpone the endorsement of Miranda S.
\nGoeltom as the senior deputy governor of Bank Indonesia in June
\nbecause less than half of the 500-member House failed to turn up
\nfor the plenary session.<\/p>\n
It was the first plenary meeting that could not meet the
\nquorum.<\/p>\n
In addition, preparations for the April 5, 2004, general
\nelection, the campaign period and the presidential election also
\ncontributed to the poor attendance record of the House.<\/p>\n
The Mass Communications Forum, which groups journalists
\ncovering the House, said the majority of House legislators
\nattended less than 30 percent of all meetings.<\/p>\n
The House's steering committee was also unable to convene for
\n16 consecutive times between January to March, despite the fact
\nthat the meeting was crucial to set the schedule for the
\ndeliberation of bills.<\/p>\n
There were also days when most of the legislators spent their
\ntime caught up in political rivalries. Instead of sitting and
\ndiscussing the aspirations of the people, the legislators debated
\nand reached a consensus behind closed doors on the alleged
\ninvolvement of Gus Dur and then House speaker Akbar Tandjung in
\nseparate graft cases involving the State Logistics Agency.<\/p>\n
Critics suspect the inability of many of the legislators to
\nunderstand their roles and function contributed to this dismal
\nperformance.<\/p>\n
House leaders said the absence of an effective system hampered
\nefforts to get anything done.<\/p>\n
The decision to establish a permanent disciplinary committee
\nraised hopes for a better and more qualified House.<\/p>\n
According to the House's standing orders, the committee has
\nthe authority to summon House members who do not perform their
\nduties or who evade their responsibilities.<\/p>\n
Punishments range from formal reprimands and dismissal after
\nexamining the evidence and witnesses. A letter of dismissal will
\nbe sent to the president for confirmation.<\/p>\n
People were hopeful the current House that was elected in
\nApril would bring about change, particularly since almost 70
\npercent of the 550 House members were new faces.<\/p>\n
However, at this point there seems to be little reason for
\nhope given the polarization of factions that support and oppose
\nPresident Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.<\/p>\n
The rivalry between the Nationhood Coalition, comprising
\nGolkar, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, the
\nProsperous Peace Party and the Reform Star Party, and the
\nPeople's Coalition of the Democratic Party, Prosperous Justice
\nParty and National Awakening Party, led to a one month stalemate
\nin which very little, if anything, was accomplished by the House.<\/p>\n
With almost five years to go, it remains to be seen whether
\nthis polarization will continue to affect the House's
\nperformance.<\/p>\n
Selected leftover bills from 1999-2004:<\/p>\n
1. State Secrecy<\/p>\n
2. Freedom of Information<\/p>\n
3. Currency<\/p>\n
4. Population and Prosperous Family<\/p>\n
5. Anti-Pornography<\/p>\n
6. Witness and Victims Protection<\/p>\n
7. Racial and Ethnic Discrimination Eradication<\/p>\n
8. Territorial Border<\/p>\n
9. State of Emergency<\/p>\n
10. Cabinet Ministry<\/p>\n
11. Presidential Advisory Board<\/p>\n
12. Military Tribunal<\/p>\n
13. Teacher<\/p>\n
14. Sports<\/p>\n
15. Postal Affairs<\/p>\n
16. Bank Liquidation<\/p>\n
17. Bank Credit<\/p>\n
18. Ombudsman<\/p>\n
19. Marriage<\/p>\n
20. State Audit Agency<\/p>\n
21. Health<\/p>\n
22. Haj Pilgrimage<\/p>\n
23. Terrorism<\/p>\n
24. Human Trafficking<\/p>\n
25. Immigration<\/p>\n
26. Information and Electronic Transaction<\/p>\n
Source: The Jakarta Post<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jphouse-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }