Bill on legislative composition shows more reform flaws

Bill on legislative composition shows more reform flaws

Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The bill on the composition of the legislative bodies, a follow-
on from last year's amendments to the 1945 Constitution,
demonstrates the weaknesses that critics warned would result from
what they said were half-hearted constitutional changes.

Although hailed as a milestone in the much-vaunted, four-year
old reform effort, the passage of the amendments was tainted by
suspicions that the country's political elite were reluctant to
share power.

Tuesday's passage of the elections bill confirmed at least one
of those fears. The elections law imposes a two percent electoral
threshold, thus giving the larger parties a head start in the
election.

Another follow-up on the amendment, the direct presidential
elections bill, could limit the list of candidates to just five
-- one from each of the five biggest political parties.

Now, the bill on the composition of the legislative organs:
the House of Representatives (DPR), the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR), and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD)
reiterates the superiority of indirectly-elected members of
political parties over directly-elected local representatives.

These three legislative institutions form the foundations for
next year's general election in line with the constitutional
amendments.

"We can't provide additional bodies other than those
designated by the Constitution," said Golkar faction legislator
Muhammad Yahya Zaini on Wednesday.

Yahya was referring to the regional representatives who will
have much less authority than their counterparts in the MPR. The
assembly is the country's highest law-making body.

Under the recent amendments, the MPR will be converted into a
bicameral legislature consisting of the DPR and DPD. The DPD is
comparable to the U.S. Senate but only in so far as both
represent regions.

In the MPR, the DPD and DPR members will be equal as regards
powers but not numbers. According to the new elections bill, each
province shall have four representatives regardless of population
size. With 30 provinces so far, the number of DPD members will
amount to 120 as against 550 in the DPR.

Outside the context of the MPR, DPD members have fewer
functions given to them by the amended Constitution.

And as legislator Yahya said, there is not enough leeway to
increase the DPD's role through the legislative composition bill.

The bills' articles 39 and 40 outlining the DPD's role are
almost exact copies of article 22C and 22D of the Constitution.

The Constitution limits the DPD's role to discussing bills
that only concern local government affairs. Such bills may be
related to local autonomy, the creation of new provinces, and
revenue-sharing between the central and local governments.

Other countries' bicameral systems also had chambers with
unequal powers, said Brawijaya University constitutional law
expert Mukti Fajar.

But unlike in Indonesia, he said, directly-elected
representatives had more power than indirectly-elected ones.

He explained that directly-elected representatives were more
accountable compared to those who were appointed.

"In Indonesia it's a bit strange because it's more difficult
to become a DPD member than a legislator, and yet the latter has
more power," he said.

Analysts often link the poor performance of legislators with a
lack of accountability because their parties appoint them instead
of the people.

Legislators have set up a special committee to start debating
the bill on the composition of the legislative bodies.

The committee is awaiting the appointment of a chairman and
must first decide on mechanisms and a schedule before it can
start its work.