Legislators slammed over petition<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Observers have criticized House of Representatives members for
\ngoing ahead with their plan to summon President Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono to explain his position on the chief of the Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI).<\/p>\n
The Nationhood Coalition faction and the National Awakening
\nParty (PKB) oppose Susilo's decision to revoke a letter by former
\npresident Megawati Soekarnoputri to the House. The letter would
\nhave changed the guard in the powerful TNI.<\/p>\n
The move to summon Susilo was a political maneuver and not in
\nthe interests of the people, activists and experts said on
\nSunday.<\/p>\n
\"This is a psy(chological)-war between a group of legislators
\nand the new administration. It is difficult to figure out how the
\nmaneuver will benefit the nation,\" Andalas University legal
\nexpert and antigraft activist Saldi Isra said.<\/p>\n
Megawati's letter issued on Oct. 15 before she stepped down
\nreplaced TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto with Army chief Gen.
\nRyamizard Ryacudu, after Endriartono earlier announced his
\nresignation from the job.<\/p>\n
A group of 55 legislators submitted the petition on Friday to
\nHouse Speaker Agung Laksono, who later said he would schedule the
\nitem for discussion at a House plenary session next week.<\/p>\n
An earlier plenary meeting had assigned the House's defense
\ncommission to deliberate Megawati's letter, despite it having
\nbeen withdrawn by Susilo, who wants Endriartono to stay at the
\nTNI's helm for the meantime.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the defense commission comprising only lawmakers
\nfrom the Nationhood Coalition plus the National Awakening Party
\n(PKB) endorsed Ryamizard as the new TNI commander. The approval
\nwill be further discussed soon at a House plenary session.<\/p>\n
Article 169 of the House's standing orders states that at
\nleast 13 House members can propose a petition for the House to
\nsummon the President over an important and strategic government
\npolicy that affects the entire nation.<\/p>\n
Summoning a president is a serious move and normally occurs
\nonly in situations when presidents could be seen as acting
\nagainst the interests of the nation.<\/p>\n
\"But, the petition recently filed by lawmakers has nothing to
\ndo with the interests of the people at large. The legislators
\nmust have understood that,\" Saldi told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He said the House's plan to summon Susilo would be irrelevant
\n\"because the President has given his explanation directly or
\nthrough his ministers (to the people) about his decision to
\nrevoke Megawati's letter\".<\/p>\n
Also criticizing the petition was Center for Electoral Reform
\n(CETRO) deputy director Hadar N. Gumay, who said the legislators
\nhad not distinguished which issues were important to the people.<\/p>\n
Although House members had the right to submit such a petition
\nto summon the President, they should be careful deciding when to
\ndo it, he said.<\/p>\n
\"The legislators must listen to the aspirations of the people,
\notherwise the public will distrust them,\" Hadar said.<\/p>\n
In its role of scrutinizing the executive, the House has the
\nright to launch an inquiry, make a statement, draft bills, and
\nsummon the President in order to seek explanations.<\/p>\n
In 1999, then-president BJ Habibie was summoned to give an
\nexplanation before a House plenary session over the result of the
\nUnited Nations-sponsored ballot in which East Timor voted for
\nindependence from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Habibie's successor, Abdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid, was also
\nsummoned by the House to clarify his decision to dismiss two of
\nhis ministers, Laksamana Sukardi and Jusuf Kalla, from the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar
\nParty respectively.<\/p>\n
During Megawati's presidency, a group of legislators also
\nproposed the House summon her over the loss of the Sipadan and
\nLigitan islands to Malaysia.<\/p>\n
However, the proposal was rejected by majority of House
\nmembers.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/legislators-slammed-over-petition-1447893297",
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