Assembly slammed for prolonged session

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Observers criticized the newly installed members of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Tuesday for costly delays in the election of Assembly leaders, which they said was a waste of public money for political gain.

Members of the House of Representatives and the Regional Representative Council (DPD), which make up the Assembly, have been embroiled in a leadership struggle since they were sworn in on Saturday.

The House, which has 550 members, had insisted three of the Assembly's four leaders should come from its members, while the DPD, which had 128 members, wanted the leaders to come evenly from the House and the DPD.

The debate prompted temporary Assembly leaders to extend the MPR session that was supposed to end on Sunday, spending some Rp 5 billion (US$550,000) a day in taxpayers' money.

Assembly members finally agreed on Tuesday evening to split the leadership seats -- two for the House and two others for the DPD. The Assembly will hold another meeting on Wednesday to elect the four MPR members.

The decision meant a change to the Assembly standing orders.

"I think (the fractious Assembly session) should be about power-sharing. They should work together for the interests of the people," constitutional law expert Harun Alrasyid told The Jakarta Post Tuesday.

An activist from the House watchdog Formappi Sebastian Salang said the plenary session was a wasteful power struggle.

"The legislators should understand that prolonging the meeting will only increase their expenses," he said.

The Indonesian Union of Muslim Students (KAMMI) criticized the prolonged debate, saying Assembly members would better use the time to focus on the problems confronting the nation.

The Assembly secretariat had originally scheduled the current session to close on Sunday, but Eddie Siregar, Assembly deputy secretary general, said on Tuesday his office had extended the meeting to end on Oct. 6.

The office had allocated Rp 33.51 billion for three events -- the annual Assembly session from Sept. 23 through Sept. 26, the plenary session from Oct. 1 through Oct. 6 and for the inauguration of the new president and vice president on Oct. 20, he said.

Siregar said part of the money would be used to pay for the accommodation of 128 DPD members who had not been given official residences.

Eddie refused to specify the amount of daily expenses paid to members during the Assembly plenary session.

Budget for plenary sessions

Items Amount

Expenses of officials: stipend for 14,526,408,000 Assembly members and secretariat staff

Expenditure for stationery, meals 6,339,170,000 and medical treatment

Hotel accommodation 8,382,050,000

Building maintenance 1,114,700,000

Transport 3,150,672,000

Total: Rp 33,513,000,000

Source: Assembly secretariat