DPR criticized for bad performance
DPR criticized for bad performance
Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A legislative watchdog has criticized the members of the House of
Representatives (DPR) for their poor performance in relation to
legislative, budgetary and supervisory functions.
The Indonesian Parliament Watchdog Society (Formappi) said in
a press conference here on Monday that during the first year of
its five-year term, the House endorsed just 10 pieces of
legislation, while its budgetary and supervisory functions failed
to live up to the expectations of the people.
"The House's legislative function clearly does not work, with
only 10 of 55 targeted bills having been endorsed," said Formappi
director Tommi Legowo.
Tommi said the House also failed to exercise its budgetary
function by failing to vigorously debate state budget issues with
the government.
The 2005 state budget has been revised three times amid the
surge in international oil prices, and the House, dominated by
factions that support the administration, has done little to
force the government to find other ways to ease the pressure on
the state budget other than by raising fuel prices, he said.
Tommi said the House's failure to exercise its supervisory
function was evident in the absence of concrete steps by the body
after a series of hearings between House commissions and their
related partners in the executive body.
Following the inauguration of legislators, House factions were
involved in a conflict over the elections of House leaders and
commissions chairpeople.
"The emergence of brokers in the allocation of money for the
regions, the mark up of expenses for lawmakers' official trips
and corruption allegations have tarnished the House's image. And
since the current lawmakers were inaugurated, the House has
failed to deliver any good news to the people," Tommi said.
Another legislative watchdog, Teliti, previously criticized
the work of the House despite the presence of younger and better
educated members.
It said legislators continued to focus on the interests of
their respective political parties rather than those of the
people. It also said many lawmakers were distracted from their
work in the House because they moonlighted.
The group said people were disappointed with the actions and
work of lawmakers, including the division of members into the so-
called Nationhood Coalition and the People's Coalition, the hike
in legislators' monthly salaries and the House's decision to
approve last week's hike in fuel prices.
More than 70 percent of the 550 legislators, who assumed
office in September of 2004, are new to the body and almost 50
percent of them are between the ages of 25 and 49. However, this
infusion of new blood has not repaired the legislative body's
badly tarnished image.
People had high expectations for the new legislators because
besides being new and younger, 49 percent of the legislators are
university graduates and 33 percent have master's or PhDs.