Absences 'threaten laws' legitimacy'

A. Junaidi, Jakarta

The poor attendance of legislators at plenary sessions of the House of Representatives could reduce the legitimacy of the laws they passed, a constitutional expert said on Monday.

"Although it's allowed according to standing orders, people could question the legitimacy of the bills passed," Sri Soemantri of the Padjadjaran University in Bandung, West Java told The Jakarta Post.

The approval of a government regulation in lieu of a law or Perpu No. 1/2004, which allowed open-pit mining in protected forests, was supported only by 130 legislators of the House's 500 members, he said.

Although 102 legislators rejected the government regulation in the plenary session last Thursday, the House endorsed the bill in a vote.

The vote was taken despite the fact that a majority of the nine factions in the House opposed the measure. Those opposing the endorsement were the National Awakening faction, the Reform faction, the Crescent Star faction, the TNI/Police faction, the Indonesian Nationhood Unity faction and the Daulat Ummah faction.

Other factions -- the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, the Golkar Party and the United Development Party -- agreed to endorse the bill.

The regulation was slammed by activists who fear greater environmental damage to forests because of mining operations.

Many other important bills, including the bill on the constitutional court, were also endorsed by small percentage of legislators.

Usually, more than 50 percent of legislators attend the opening of the session, sign the attendance list and then leave.

Sri Sumantri suggested that Article 195 of the House's standing orders, which requires only 50 percent plus one of the 500 legislators to be in attendance to pass a law, should be reviewed.

"The internal regulation should be revised -- at least two- thirds of the legislators should be in attendance for a law to be passed. They should also physically attend, not just sign the attendance list," he said.

A bill endorsed by the House goes into effect 30 days after its approval with or without the president's signature.

Commenting on the endorsement of the perpu, lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said current legislators had no "legitimacy" to approve important bills.

"They should not approve any important bills. The new members of the House should approve the bill," Todung told the Post Monday.

The 550 new members of the House elected in the April 5 legislative election will be sworn in on Oct. 1, 2004.

The government issued the regulation when several mining companies halted operations following the enactment of Law No. 41/1999, which bans open pit mining in protected forests.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri also issued a complementary decree on May 12, 2004, allowing 13 mining companies to resume operations in protected forests.

The firms, many of which are owned by foreign investors, including those from the United States and Australia, operate in protected forests in provinces including Riau, Maluku, Lampung, East Kalimantan, South Kalimantan and Papua.