Do legislators need crash course?

By Cornelis Lay

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Prospective members of the House of Representatives, elected earlier this year, are enjoying special attention.

With the present cabinet nearing the end of its term, a ministry for special assignments has been set up in an unprecedented move to "empower" the new legislators.

Initially the ministry was not created to empower the house but it evolved and its brief now includes holding an "informal discussion" to give a "more profound understanding" of the legislators' tasks.

At the local level, members of regional legislative assemblies (DPRD I and II) have become involved in the same undertaking since 1994, following the 1992 general election.

The education and training agency of the Ministry of Home Affairs has been coordinating attempts to give House members a thorough understanding of their role.

These activities have been carried out across the country and the materials are substantial in nature. Regional assemblies have evaluated these activities and the outcome was positive.

Indeed the activities, which are devoid of ceremony, are a serious undertaking and utilize experts from respected universities throughout the country.

A similar endeavor for members of regional assemblies is set to begin in September but preparations began a long time. In July, more than 60 experts from various disciplines spent two nights in Puncak, West Java, collecting the necessary materials and syllabus.

Hence, in terms of substance, what is happening is not new except for the involvement of the House. As a result, the informal discussion or crash course for members of the House does carry some political weight. Moreover the course was opened by the President himself and top political figures are presiding over proceedings.

However limited the course, it will have a positive impact on the performance of the House. The interaction between House members and experts, in the process of acquainting themselves with various aspects of social life, will give the legislators a more profound and broader understanding of their task which begins in October.

The present House has better qualifications, in terms of the educational background and the experience of its members. However, the political turmoil that has hit the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) has resulted in the emergence of a number of House members who, psychologically and technically, may not have been prepared to serve as people's representatives. Therefore, it may be theorized that significant gaps will exist between members of the House. The informal discussion will be able to help bridge these gaps, that is, if it is conducted in earnest.

The crash course will be useful for House members who have an adequate educational background and experience. Understanding must be shared by House members in view of, among others, a change in their function, role and the difference between the working character of the House and the experience and education of previous House members.

For experts and those from university circles, interaction with the House provides not only a chance to communicate their "dreams" but also an ample opportunity to learn. In this way, the intellectuals may come up with more reasonable suggestions which are in tune with the problems the House faces.

There are many other benefits which may be derived from a crash course among House members. There is, however, one issue which may result in the course being devoid of substantial meaning.

The course is held with an assumption that the substance of all problems, which have prevented our House from performing its functions adequately, lies within the House itself. It is even assumed that the substance of the problems rests on the shoulders of each House member individually.

Therefore, it is also assumed that the course will be a prescription with great efficacy and it will eliminate individual sources of failure from the House. We are all aware, however, that this assumption is far from reality. Facts show that most of the problems facing the House are structural in nature and lie outside the realm of the House itself.

Thus, we must realize that the course is part of an effort to remove the hurdles which stand in the way of the House. This activity will be useful to solve problems which are individual in character and lie within the House itself. The solution to most other problems, meanwhile, must be found in other areas which are structural in character and lie outside the House.

In other words, efforts to empower the House will only work if improvement in the quality of House members, as individuals, is coupled with changes in principle, which are structural in character, in the political area.

Without this awareness, the course will result in the emergence of House members as individuals with higher qualifications and expectations but in tight, structural shackles.

In this situation, empowerment may have two possible results. First, House members will become more apathetic, lowering the quality of the House's performance. Second, House members will breed covert radicalism which can easily give birth to serious problems.

The writer is a lecturer in political science at Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta.