Smooth MPR General Session draws praise<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Assembly members patted themselves on the back
\nyesterday at the end of a smooth and prosaic General Session of
\nthe People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).<\/p>\n
Deputy Speaker of the Assembly Ismail Hasan Metareum said the
\nlegislative body deserved congratulations for finishing the 11-
\nday congress on time with only minor interruptions.<\/p>\n
\"No problem. The Assembly managed to reach agreements in its
\ndeliberations during the General Session as expected,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ismail, who is also chairman of the Moslem-based United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP), said a minor interruption during
\nSaturday's Commission C meeting did not ensnare the meeting.<\/p>\n
\"There's nothing controversial. It's common if debates fill a
\ndeliberation.\"<\/p>\n
Golkar legislator Fahmi Idris interrupted PPP spokesman
\nBachtiar Chamsyah during the commission meeting, criticizing him
\nfor wasting time with unnecessary repetition of the party's
\ngeneral overview of President Soeharto's accountability speech.<\/p>\n
After initial reluctance, PPP declared it \"could approve\" the
\naccountability speech with further demands for radical
\nbureaucratic reforms.<\/p>\n
It was the only interruption to mark the General Session,
\nalthough it merely dealt with a technicality, rather than an
\nissue of substance.<\/p>\n
Leaders of the five Assembly factions had warned their members
\nagainst interruptions prior to the general session, saying that
\nall five factions had reached agreements on the substance of the
\ncongress in their preparatory meetings in January.<\/p>\n
The 1,000-member Assembly capped off its congress yesterday
\nwith the election and inauguration of B.J. Habibie as Vice
\nPresident for the 1998\/2003 term in place of Try Sutrisno.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the Assembly reelected incumbent President
\nSoeharto and passed the State Policy Guidelines plus four other
\ndecrees, including one that gives the President extra powers.<\/p>\n
The General Session this year was marked by extra tight
\nsecurity measures amid worries about heightening protests over
\nrising prices of basic commodities.<\/p>\n
A total of 25,000 security officers were deployed to safeguard
\nthe congress, compared to 11,000 five years ago.<\/p>\n
Another Assembly deputy speaker, Poedjono Pranyoto, expressed
\nsatisfaction, saying the Assembly passed decrees that were
\nbeneficial to the people.<\/p>\n
\"Alhamdulillah (praise God) that the Assembly reached
\nagreements in the spirit of brotherhood. There have been
\ndifferent opinions among us, but now everything is clear,\"
\nPoedjono, who chaired the Assembly working committee in charge of
\nthe preparatory meetings, said.<\/p>\n
He said he did not play down criticism of the Assembly.<\/p>\n
\"Such criticism serves well as a mirror for us to be
\nintrospective. To err is human, to forgive is divine,\" Peodjono
\nsaid, citing a proverb.<\/p>\n
The just concluded General Session drew criticism for lacking
\ndebates, particularly on the vice presidential issue. The
\nAssembly had already locked the door for former cabinet minister
\nEmil Salim's bid for the vice presidency even though its congress
\nhad not even started.<\/p>\n
Poedjono defended the Assembly's stubborn stance on certain
\ndemands for the alternative candidate, saying that any motions
\nshould meet the rules and mechanisms applying to the highest law-
\nmaking body. (amd)<\/p>",
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