DPR yet to accept decree on wealth audit commission

JAKARTA (JP): The establishment of the Audit Commission on Officials Wealth has met with an early hurdle as the House of Representatives threatens to drop its support for the commission candidates.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung and the chairman of the now defunct House committee screening the commission candidates, Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, were of the same opinion on Thursday that President Abdurrahman Wahid's decision to short-list 25 of 45 people proposed for the new body was a violation of Law 28/1999 on clean and good governance, which is the basis for the establishment of the commission.

"The government can not unilaterally cut the number of candidates for the commission," Akbar said, citing an article in the law which asserts the establishment of the commission is subject to the House's approval.

"We could consider retracting our support for the candidates," he added.

According to Presidential Decree No. 242/2000, which was signed on Sept. 2, the lineup was trimmed down for the sake of efficiency. Of the 25 remaining candidates, 11 represent the government.

The commission members will be divided into four groups assigned the tasks of auditing the wealth of officials in the executive, legislative and judiciary branches, and those at state enterprises.

Included among the 25 candidates short-listed by the President are the former head of the graft investigation into former president Soeharto, Chairul Imam, Supreme Advisory Council deputy chairman Jusuf Syakir and Masyumi Islamic Party chairman Abdullah Hehamahua.

Those who missed the cut include Muslim activist Eggy Sudjana and the chairman of the Indonesian Journalists Association, Tarman Azzam. Consumer protection activist Zoemrotin K. Susilo earlier declined her nomination.

Akbar regretted the President issued the decree without first consulting the House.

"We have not accepted the decree yet. We are sorry the government did not tell us anything about the trimming (of the candidates)," Akbar, who also chairs Golkar Party, said.

He asked the government to announce why it had shortened the list of candidates, all of whom passed a House fit-and-proper test in July.

Akbar said the House's endorsement of the 45 candidates was a three-stage process, including a plenary session of the legislative body.

Disappointment

Ferry, the deputy chairman of House Commission II for legal and domestic affairs, also expressed his regret over the government's unilateral decision.

"The House has taken the responsibility of being criticized by the public for several candidates (on the original list). So the government should not have cut the list (because of public objection)," Ferry said.

He said members of the committee which screened the candidates were disappointed with the government's move, and many had said they might revoke their support for the commission if the government did not offer a clear explanation of its decision.

He said this issue could strain already shaky relations between the House and the government.

"Someday, we might disagree with a bill sponsored by the government. We don't want that to happen," Ferry said.

The integrity and competence of the 45 candidates for the commission had been questioned in many quarters.

However, in a plenary session on July 6, the House approved the 45 candidates, although only 58 of the 500 legislators in the House attended the session.

The House came under a storm of criticism for selecting candidates many people believed were affiliated with factions in the legislative body. (jun)