Old call, new caller<\/p>\n
Almost a week after Speaker of the House of Representatives
\n(DPR) Wahono called on law makers to do some serious soul-
\nsearching to evaluate their own performances, reactions are still
\ncoming from various circles.<\/p>\n
Wahono's predecessors, especially Mohammad Kharis Suhud, from
\nwhom the current speaker took over the job, have made the same
\ncall, but the way Wahono made his statement sounded more
\nrelevant and more impressive. He reminded the DPR members that
\nthe legislative body had been created to prevent the formation of
\na repressive, or fascist government.<\/p>\n
The reactions might have been provoked by the mood existing as
\nthe people mark the 50th year of national independence with
\nlouder calls for greater political openness.<\/p>\n
However that may be, the lamentable reality is that during the
\nlast three decades the DPR has never sponsored any bill. It has
\nonly endorsed those set forth by the administration.<\/p>\n
That is why many people say that the repeated call for action
\nis easier said than done. Particularly in light of the fact that
\nsome authorities see the plea as having the ability to awaken the
\nsleeping tiger of liberal democracy.<\/p>\n
Among the factors that have hampered the effort to make a
\nstronger legislative body are the DPR's own non-democratic
\nprocedural rules and its inability to decide its own budget. This
\nhas caused legislators' inaction and the political immaturity
\namong the law makers.<\/p>\n
It is also a reality that the legislators only pack the
\nmeeting hall when a cabinet minister is on hand. The situation
\nseems even more comic when one sees that in many cases they are
\noften so spellbound by the ministers' statements that they forget
\nto get the people's message across. This only goes to prove that
\nthe legislators have become less sensitive towards the public's
\nproblems. And the root cause of this unattractive trend is
\napparently their lack of political professionalism.<\/p>\n
Three decades after the current administration vowed to heal
\nthe political ills left by president Sukarno's government, it is
\nfar from gratifying to hear the people making jokes about the law
\nmakers' performance, which evolves around attending meetings and
\nlistening well but keeping quiet before going home after signing
\nfor payment.<\/p>\n
This view mirrors the reality pointed out by Afar Gaffar, an
\nobserver of the political situation from Gajah Mada University in
\nYogyakarta. He has noted that absenteeism is still rampant among
\nDPR members, who don't seem to care much about the increasing
\ntrend toward monopoly, the annual rise in cement prices and
\ncorruption -- outside of the scandal at the state-owned bank,
\nBapindo.<\/p>\n
With this situation, it is no wonder that the authorities do
\nnot seem to think they have to pay serious attention to the DPR's
\ncalls. For example, the sluggish reaction of the authorities when
\nthe DPR called for their attention to the problem of port
\ncongestion at Tanjung Priok harbor. Ironically, they moved fast
\nenough when the Asia North America Eastbound Rate Agreement made
\nthe same appeal.<\/p>\n
The weak position of the legislative body is a product of the
\npresent system. The situation can only be improved if the ruling
\nelite believe that a strong DPR is as equally important as a
\nstrong administration. The venture towards this end should begin
\nwith more democratic general elections, participated in by a
\nnumber of viable political contestants.<\/p>\n
The second step would be to guarantee that no more legislators
\nwill be asked to leave the law making body by their parties. Of
\ncourse, this may not be possible in the near future, in light of
\nthe fact that Wahono himself lacked the political clout to block
\nthe recalling of DPR members recently.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/old-call-new-caller-1447893297",
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