Akbar admits law-making flaws

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung said on Thursday that the current House had endorsed a large number of bills during its five-year term, which is due to end soon, but the quality of many of them remained a cause for concern.

"Although the number of bills endorsed is quite high, there must be improvements made as to the quality of legislation in the future," Akbar told a plenary session of the People's Consultative Assembly here.

Akbar was referring to public demands for the constitutional review of some laws by the Constitutional Court, including the electoral law, political party law and broadcasting law.

Activists from the Coalition for Participatory Policies (KKP) have been pushing for public access to the law-making process in a bid to reduce the possibility of laws being enacted in the face of public opposition.

Critics also accuse lawmakers of sacrificing the public interest for short-term political gains during the legislative process. They also say that the fact that the constitutionality of various laws was being challenged reflected the failure of lawmakers to accommodate the views of the public.

The current House has so far passed 156 bills, 39 of which were endorsed in the past year.

Akbar said the House would continue with the deliberation of a number of bills before the legislators complete their five-year terms next Thursday.

The bills include those on the Indonesian Military (TNI), the protection of migrant workers, the social security system, and the amendment of the local government law.

An official from the House secretariat said on Thursday that some of the bills could be endorsed either on Sept. 28 or Sept. 29, despite the fact that the lawmakers have only three working days remaining.

Some legislators said the House would continue with its deliberation of the controversial TNI bill, which critics say will leave the door wide open again for the military to become involved in politics.

A high level of absenteeism also marked the first day of the Assembly's annual session. The Assembly secretariat said 450 out of the 700 members had signed the attendance list.

Akbar said that public trust in the House had been on the rise, as shown by the number of people who came to the lawmakers to help them settle their problems.

In the period from 2003 to 2004, he said, the House received 2,088 letters from the public, 457 of which were mailed.

He appealed to the new legislators elected in the April 4 general election to improve the performance of the House, or otherwise they would lose the confidence of the public.

Regarding the House's role in overseeing the workings of government, Akbar said that this role had been properly exercised in accordance with the Constitution.

The Assembly also heard the accountability reports of the President, chief justice, the Constitutional Court president and the Supreme Audit Agency.