East Timor representation questioned
East Timor representation questioned
Alex Wilson and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representatives' decision to retain four legislators
representing East Timor has raised eyebrows as the former
Portuguese colony no longer has any official connection to
Indonesia let alone the need for political representation.
Skepticism is running high as to whether their existence in
the legislative body is still relevant since East Timor has been
independent of Indonesian control since September 1999.
Political analyst of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
(LIPI) Hermawan Sulistyo suggested that the four seats held by
the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and
Golkar be abolished immediately.
The four legislators, who were all elected during the general
elections in June 1999, are Setya Novanto and Natercia Do Menino
Jesus Osorio Soares of Golkar and Ronny B.S. Hutagaol and Rekso
Ageng Herman of PDI Perjuangan. Only Natercia was actually born
in East Timor.
Hermawan said the four legislators should leave the House as
the territory they represented was no longer a part of the
Republic of Indonesia.
"I do believe that the seats should be abolished now. They
don't have the constituents over there any more. Times change,
situations change, and they just can't keep seats like that," he
told The Jakarta Post here on Thursday.
A chairman of Golkar, Slamet Effendi Yusuf, confirmed the four
legislators would retain their seats until 2004, but said they
now represented the people of East Nusa Tenggara, a province
which borders East Timor.
He said that many East Timorese who had wanted to remain part
of Indonesia moved to East Nusa Tenggara and the legislators were
now "representing" them.
"They represent the people, not the region," he added.
Hermawan rejected this explanation, claiming it was
ridiculous. "You can't move from representing the people of South
Sumatra and say my constituents have moved to East Java, now I
represent East Java," he said.
Before steps could be taken toward the elimination of the four
seats, he said, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) needed
to abolish the decree on East Timor, thereby endorsing the
results of the UN-administered ballot in 1999.
Senior politician of PDI Perjuangan Sabam Sirait brushed off
the skepticism, saying that the four legislators had the legal
basis to work until 2004.
"There has been a presidential decree (on their membership),
they have been inaugurated, and they have worked. Their term is
between 1999 and 2004," Sabam told the Post.
PDI Perjuangan deputy secretary-general Pramono Anung,
meanwhile, said the four seats could not be abolished as
regulations required the House to have 500 members and no
guidelines existed to deal with the current situation.
He said the four members had not just been elected to
represent a province. "They represent the people of the Republic
of Indonesia, not just East Timor," he added.
Each legislator receives Rp 12.5 million per month in
taxpayers' money. If the election in 2004 is scheduled to take
place in June, there will be 30 months left for legislators to
enjoy facilities at the House.
The cost of keeping them in the House until the 2004 election
will be approximately Rp 1.5 billion.