Can legislators evaluate their own performances?

Can legislators evaluate their own performances?

JAKARTA (JP): A political observer considered it strange and
paradoxical that the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), a
majority of whom are members of the House of Representatives
(DPR), will have to evaluate the House's progress report in next
week's first Annual Session.

Samsuddin Harris from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
(LIPI) said that although the House is subordinate to the
Assembly and both have their own functions, it would be
psychologically impossible for the Assembly to evaluate the House
and make objective corrections because 500 of the Assembly's 700
members were also MPR members.

"This means MPR members will evaluate their own performance,"
he said in a discussion on the MPR Annual Session's agenda here
on Wednesday.

One of the Assembly's main agendas during the session is to
evaluate the progress report from the government, State Audit
Agency, Supreme Advisory Council, Supreme Court and the House.

According to Samsuddin, the House should make its annual
progress report to the people who elected them in the last
general election.

This can be done, he said, with the help of the mass media.

"The people, legislators' constituents, can then present their
evaluation through the general election and they will certainly
cast their votes to parties who they feel absorbed their
political aspirations," he added.

Several legislators dismissed Samsuddin's analysis, saying
that apart from the 500 House members there were also 200
regional representatives and the interest group faction in the
Assembly which can play a key role in the evaluation.

Heri Achmadi, secretary of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction, said the presence of these
other 200 members is expected to give a special color to the
Assembly's proceedings.

Yahya Zaini of the Golkar Party faction said political
observers should not think too negatively of the House because
the present legislature is quite different from those in the
past.

Alfi Achmad of the Reform faction concurred and said it was
the first time the Assembly would hold an Annual Session.

"Let the Assembly hold the annual meeting according to the
agenda because we are learning the process of democracy," he
said.

The three legislators also said their factions at the Assembly
had no objections to the 164 regional representatives' plan to
establish their own faction to channel regional aspirations in
the Annual Session.

Committee

In a separate development the National Awakening Party (PKB)
faction rejected during a meeting on Wednesday the Assembly's
Working Committee decision to bring the controversial draft
decree on a review of its internal rulings to the Annual Session,
saying the draft decree has yet to be deliberated by the Ad Hoc
Committee.

A. Choliq Achmad, secretary of the PKB faction said the
Working Committee was discriminative and inconsistent as it
turned down another draft decree proposed by the regional
representatives in their efforts to establish their own faction.

The Working Committee in the Plenary Session on Wednesday
accepted a decree proposed by 27 legislators, suggesting that the
Assembly's Annual Session not only listen to the government
progress report but also evaluate it.

Assembly speaker Amien Rais who presided over the session on
Wednesday said: "For democratic reasons, the PKB faction will
still have a chance to reject the draft decree in the Annual
Session."

The draft decree also allows the Annual Session to recommend a
Special Session to ask for an accountability speech from the
president. If the draft decree is endorsed the Assembly could
hold a Special Session to impeach the president if he is found to
have violated the constitution, state policy outlines and the
law. (rms/jun)