DPR/MPR office opens in Sidrap

DPR/MPR office opens in Sidrap

SIDRAP, South Sulawesi (JP): The regency of Sidrap, some 200
kilometers north of the capital city of Makassar now has its own
official House of Representatives and People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) representative office.

House Commission I Chairman Yasril Ananta Baharuddin
officially opened the representative office on Sunday.

It is the first such regional representative office in the
history of the country which specifically represents the
legislative institution.

Yasril, who hails from the regency of Sidrap, said the
representative office would help locals channel their
aspirations. But he did not say if the opening of the office had
been approved by the speakers of the House and Assembly.

"I want to be closer to the people of Sidrap," he said. "This
office is not authorized to make any regulations. It will,
however, accommodate and handle problems that can be resolved at
the regency level."

According to Yasril there will be no overlapping of duties
between the representative office and other government offices or
institutions.

He said he decided to open the representative office after
visiting the U.S. some time ago.

"I saw that such a system worked very well there," he said,
citing Hillary Clinton's step to open a representative office in
the district she was elected senator.

The opening ceremony of the DPR/MPR representative office in
Sidrap was attended by several DPR and MPR members from Jakarta,
Sidrap regent HS Parawansa, the regency legislators, and hundreds
of Sidrap residents. (27/sur)