MPR members unhappy with acting speakers<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Members of the People's Consultative Assembly
\n(MPR) blamed the two acting speakers on Sunday for the long and
\nsometimes trivial debates during the plenary session of the
\nAssembly.<\/p>\n
Members said Soejitno Hardjosoediro of the interest group and
\nIzul Islam of the United Development Party (PPP), both of whom
\nhad been appointed on Friday to preside over the session until a
\nspeaker of the Assembly was elected on Sunday, were indecisive.<\/p>\n
However, Soejitno, 77, and Izul, 30, got the job by default as
\ntradition usually dictates that the oldest and youngest Assembly
\nmembers preside over the general session before it elects a
\nspeaker.<\/p>\n
\"We should start reevaluating the tradition of electing the
\nyoungest and the oldest members of the Assembly to be the acting
\nspeakers because sometimes it is proven that they are not capable
\nof doing the job,\" Khofifah Indar Parawansa of the National
\nAwakening Party (PKB) told reporters.<\/p>\n
Many believed that indecisiveness was behind the excessively
\nlong debate on Saturday when the Assembly members decided to
\ndispose of the regional representatives faction.<\/p>\n
\"I hope that in the future General Session of the Assembly
\nthere will be an agreement between the major political parties to
\nname a proper acting speaker until the speaker of the Assembly is
\nelected,\" Khofifah added.<\/p>\n
Both Izul, and particularly Soejitno, were clearly
\nuncomfortable as they presided over the plenary session which was
\nfilled with dozens of interruptions from Assembly members unhappy
\nwith the proceedings.<\/p>\n
Soejitno, who had a rather bemused look, sometimes seemed lost
\nas he tried to control the rambunctious assembly members. What
\nshould have been a simple process of two voting procedures turned
\ninto a four-hour session which continued until the early hours of
\nSunday morning.<\/p>\n
Soejitno denied on Sunday that he was indecisive in presiding
\nover the session, saying that he was only trying \"to accommodate
\nand listen to the other people's opinions\".<\/p>\n
However, he admitted that he was \"nervous\".<\/p>\n
Hatta Rajasa of the National Mandate Party (PAN) said that the
\nblame should not be put squarely on the acting speaker's
\nshoulders.<\/p>\n
\"Whoever is in that position will face a similar situation,
\nand you can't do much because we are now in an era where people
\nare free to express their opinions,\" he said, adding that the
\nlegislators were also under enormous public pressure to complete
\nthe session on schedule.<\/p>\n
Yusril Ihza Mahendra of the Crescent Star Party also said that
\nthe perceived indecisiveness was \"understandable\" and called on
\nthe Assembly members to be patient.<\/p>\n
\"We have to sympathize with Pak Soejitno because his condition
\nis arising from old age,\" Yusril said.<\/p>\n
Analysts said that the excessively long and trivial debates in
\nthe Assembly were due to unfamiliar background in the process of
\na parliamentary democracy.<\/p>\n
For 32-years, the assembly had been a voiceless body that
\nconvened once every five years to rubber stamp the government's
\npolicies, but now many expect that major decisions will have to
\nbe decided by vote. (byg\/emf\/rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mpr-members-unhappy-with-acting-speakers-1447893297",
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