Absences 'threaten laws' legitimacy'

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.