Megawati told to reject money laundering bill<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Constitutional law expert Harun Alrasyid suggested on
\nWednesday that President Megawati Soekarnoputri object to the
\nHouse of Representatives-endorsed money laundering bill due to
\nthe low attendance by legislators when the bill was being voted
\non.<\/p>\n
\"The President should not sign the bill into law as it lacks
\n(persuasive) legal force,\" Harun, of the University of Indonesia,
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He said the newly-endorsed bill would provide loopholes for
\njudges or prosecutors involved in money-laundering trials.<\/p>\n
Harun, a legal adviser to former president Abdurrahman Wahid,
\ncondemned the poor attendance of legislators, whom he said were
\nunaware of the significance of the bill.<\/p>\n
Fellow expert Suwoto, of Airlangga University in Surabaya, had
\nearlier argued for the same reasons that the money-laundering
\nbill approved by the House on Tuesday lacked legal force.<\/p>\n
Only 49 legislators were present when the bill was formally
\npassed at the end of a plenary House session. There were 248
\nlegislators listed for attendance prior to the session.<\/p>\n
Theoretically, the President could return the bill to the
\nHouse. There was a precedent for this set when then President
\nSoeharto refused to sign the House-endorsed broadcasting bill in
\n1997 due to its unsatisfactory content.<\/p>\n
House legislators, however, defended on Wednesday the legality
\nof the money-laundering bill regardless of the poor attendance
\nduring the vote.<\/p>\n
Deputy House Speaker A.M. Fatwa of the National Mandate Party
\n(PAN) said the legal status of the bill was undeniable.<\/p>\n
\"With all its shortcomings, the bill is still valid. Those who
\nsigned the attendance sheet can be held accountable for the
\nlegislation,\" Fatwa said after consulting with faction leaders on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
Legislator Seto Harianto of the Love the Nation Democratic
\nParty (PDKB) said the low turnout of legislators should be
\ndebated in the public arena.<\/p>\n
Another legislator, Astrid S. Susanto, defended the
\nlegislation, saying that the attendance sheet was conclusive
\nevidence of the House's approval of the bill.<\/p>\n
But those arguments were strongly opposed by Harun, who said
\nthat physical attendance was mandatory for decision-making in the
\nHouse.<\/p>\n
\"The case shows that the legislators lie to themselves,\" said
\nHarun.<\/p>\n
Article 95(1) of the House's internal regulations states: A
\nsession may be convened if more than half of the House members
\nfrom more than half of the factions have signed the attendance
\nsheet.<\/p>\n
Article 189(1) states: A meeting can reach a decision if it is
\nattended by more than half of the intended participants from more
\nthan half of the factions in the House.<\/p>\n
Based on common sense or logic, Harun said, a plenary session
\nrequired the physical presence of the legislators before the
\nmeeting could arrive at a decision.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, fellow expert Hamid Awaluddin urged legislators to
\namend the internal regulations as they contained too many
\nloopholes.<\/p>\n
In order to avoid a similar case arising, Hamid said, whoever
\npresided over a House session should count the number of
\nlegislators in attendance.<\/p>\n
\"It's comical that a piece of legislation can be approved
\nbased on the presence of less than 50 legislators,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/megawati-told-to-reject-money-laundering-bill-1447893297",
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