Fear of less clout behind MPR squabble
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Staff Writer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The shameful quarreling among lawmakers during the opening ceremony of the Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly on Thursday reflected regional representatives' disappointment with the reluctance of major political parties to support the long-awaited and planned revival of the regional representative faction in the Assembly.
Some 105 of the 130 lawmakers representing provinces at the Assembly (MPR) were also disappointed with Speaker Amien Rais who offered three options to resolve the issue of the regional representatives faction.
The three options -- formalizing the regional representative faction in the opening ceremony, deliberation of the issue in commission sessions, or permanent dissolution of the regional representative faction -- sparked protests from regional representatives supporting the faction's revival.
Despite the incident that tarnished the Assembly's image, the regional representatives' deep disappointment was understandable, when faced with the growing suspicion that the Assembly intended breaking its promise. At the last MPR special session in June, it was agreed that the regional representative faction would be revived at the annual session.
The regional representatives' frustration and concern stem from the fact that neither the Assembly nor the political parties have ever given plausible reasons for their rejection of the proposed revival of the regional representatives faction, while the regional representatives had met all the legal and administrative conditions required to revive the faction.
A number of related political interests need examination here, and can be traced to the dissolution of the regional representative faction in the MPR 1999 general session.
The regional representatives were aware that they may have faced extinction after their faction was dissolved to generate political support during the 1999 presidential election. They were merged into political parties' factions in the Assembly.
They needed an additional faction to fight for provinces' interests as regions were making preparations to implement regional autonomy in January, 2001, and conflicts in Aceh, Irian Jaya, Maluku and Kalimantan had yet to be resolved.
During the Assembly's 2000 annual session, the regional representatives proposed to revive their faction and, following a round of lobbying both with the MPR leadership and major factions, the Assembly asserted its commitment to reviving the faction.
This commitment is set out in Chapter 106 of the 2000 MPR Decree's Chapter, which states that preparations for the faction's revival would be completed by the end of December 2000 at the latest and that it would be formalized in the Assembly's subsequent plenary session.
More regional representatives reiterated their proposal during the plenary of the Assembly's special session in June this year but the request was turned down as the issue was not included on the agenda. The Assembly then agreed to revive the faction at this year's annual session.
Regional representatives have reiterated the political justification for reinstating their faction, namely, that political parties had been granted the right to establish factions and that it supported the proper functioning of a bicameral parliamentary system.
They claimed the right to establish their own faction, just as political parties' representatives had factions that they used to fight for their own political interests.
According to the Assembly's internal rules, 10 lawmakers or more are allowed to set up their own faction and factions have the right to air their political views in the Assembly.
In addition, regional representatives have demanded the Assembly comply with the 1945 Constitution, which stipulates that the Assembly consists of the House of Representatives, societal group representatives and regional representatives.
Both the 500-member House and the 65 societal group representatives have their own factions. So regional representatives are wondering why they have apparently been prevented from reviving or establishing their own faction.
Major factions have objected to the faction's revival because, besides having so far enjoyed the members' support for their respective political maneuvers, political parties claim to have elected them as provincial representatives through the provincial legislatures.
In the case of the regional representative elections, political parties have manipulated the 1999 law on the composition and construction of the MPR, the House, and the provincial and regency legislatures.
The law stipulates that regional representatives must be elected by the provincial legislative council; but in reality the regional representatives have been nominated by political parties and grouped into the parties' respective factions in the Assembly. And this was why regional representatives supported the dissolution of their faction in the 1999 general session.
Additionally, some regional representatives are functionaries of political parties, such as Fahmi Idris, Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Freddy Tuamelly, who are all from the Golkar Party.
The possible revival of a regional representative faction haunts political parties because it would certainly weaken their political bargaining power in the Assembly, as the regional representatives would become the third major faction.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction enjoys political support from 49 regional representatives while the Golkar Party has won support from 63 regional representatives. The two factions have 157 members and 133 members respectively in the House.
At least 105 regional representatives have supported the proposed revival of their faction. Thirty others who remain with PDI Perjuangan, Golkar, the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) factions, have rejected the proposed regional representative faction.