'DPD must start to work to win heart of the people'
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The establishment of the directly-elected Regional Representatives Council (DPD) has raised people's hopes for a better legislature. The presence of the DPD, along with the House of Representatives, is hoped to create better checks and balances. However, with the limited power given to the DPD, the public doubts that the DPD will perform an important role. The Jakarta Post's Kurniawan Hari recently spoke with DPD Deputy Speaker Irman Gusman about the role and function of DPD. Here is the excerpt:
Question: As deputy speaker of the DPD, how will you optimize the role of this new legislative body?
Answer: In accordance with the Constitution, the duty of the DPD encompasses the legislation of certain issues, which include regional autonomy, establishment of autonomous regions, and natural resources, among other things.
However, most importantly is that as regional representatives, we must struggle for the aspirations of the people in the regions. Therefore, we try to communicate intensively with the central government and the House of Representatives to voice those aspirations.
As we all know, the authority of the DPD is only to submit proposals and to give input to the House. But, it depends on the DPD members how they maximize this function.
During the election of the People's Consultative Assembly, we were able to show the public that the DPD and the House are equal. The number of voters in the election of DPD members and House members is the same. In fact, the DPD members are directly elected by the people, not through political parties.
Constitutional reform has given birth to the DPD as a legislative body. With the presence of the DPD and the House, we hope the laws in the future will encourage fairness and will accommodate more aspirations of the regions. So far, development has centered on Java or Jakarta. We can give input to create laws that promote decentralization, fairness and proportional distribution.
Do you think there are obstacles for the DPD in carrying out its functions?
So far so good. You can see that during the Assembly session, our arguments are accepted by politicians from other parties. The composition of the Assembly leaders symbolically shows the equality between the DPD and the House.
We have also organized a hearing with Cabinet ministers. There is no problem. But, of course, we hope our function will later be strengthened. The DPD must not only have the authority to submit proposals, but must also have the power to reject. We hope the DPD will perform optimally.
When will you realize the plan? Or have you started the move?
We started this plan from the beginning. We have taken one of our steps, namely passing the composition of the Assembly leaders. Regarding our function in legislation, we have organized hearings with the government, the President and the Cabinet ministers. We have also made regional visits.
Currently, we are in the process of preparing a report from the regional visit. We will soon discuss crucial issues with the House, especially regarding regional interests.
Do you have a plan to strengthen the DPD through a constitutional amendment or revision of laws?
Yes. We will do that later. Now, we are focusing on the task at hand. We will strengthen the DPD so that the DPD will have the right to voice rejections. Through legislation, advocacy and supervision, there will be a collective opinion on the need to strengthen the DPD.
It must not be the main goal. If we focus on that issue, we will only target the power struggle. This is simply a matter of strategy. We must now keep on doing our job.
In spite of some weaknesses, the presence of the DPD is a recognition of decentralization, after decades of authoritarian government. We hope that the DPD will fight for the aspirations of the regions.
For me, the establishment of the DPD is one step toward a better state administration. It is in an equal position with the House and the President. The issue of the DPD's lack of power is just a matter of time. We have to be optimistic.