Full House, but still no end to dispute
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
All 10 factions in the House of Representatives attended a plenary meeting on Tuesday, but the enmity between the Nationhood Coalition and the People's Coalition appeared far from subsiding.
Interruptions, banging fists on tables and shouting matches marked the plenary meeting, the first legitimate House gathering since the People's Coalition -- the United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Democratic Party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and several minor parties -- boycotted all House activities for the past two weeks.
The boycott has brought the House, which began the current session on Oct. 1, to a virtual standstill.
People's Coalition members started interrupting the meeting almost immediately after House Speaker Agung Laskono opened it nearly an hour behind schedule at 2:50 p.m.
Members of the People's Coalition stood up when Agung from the Golkar Party -- a member of the rival Nationhood Coalition -- asked the House Secretariat to read out letters received, including one on the Indonesian Military (TNI) commander issue, proposed by 55 legislators.
"Don't jump into a separate issue. We have to discuss the agenda of today's plenary meeting," said Ignatius Mulyono from the Democratic Party.
Aside from Golkar, the Nationhood Coalition comprises the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Reform Star Party (PBR) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), with additional support from the National Awakening Party (PKB).
Tuesday's plenary meeting had two agendas -- endorsing members of 11 House commissions and five auxiliary bodies and reading a recommendation from the House's defense commission on the appointment of Army chief Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu as acting military chief.
However, it has become customary for the House Secretariat to read out incoming letters before the legislators discuss the main agenda of a meeting.
The Secretariat had two letters -- one on a request to amend the House's standing orders and the other on the legislators' proposal to summon President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over his decision to annul Megawati's letter, which appointed Ryamizard to replace former TNI Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, who had resigned.
The People's Coalition, however, insisted that the meeting move on to the two agendas without delay.
Agun Gunandjar Sudarsa of Golkar said it was normal for a plenary meeting to hear the latest information from the House Speaker.
"This is no problem ... because the proposal from the 55 legislators to summon the President is new information," he said, adding that rival legislators had "no clear understanding of the House's standing orders".
The statement instantly prompted more protests from the People's Coalition, who heckled over the microphone system. Some even approached the dais to make their point, putting security guards on the alert.
After a noisy debate, the House agreed to read the names of the members of its commission and auxiliary bodies and to amend the House's standing order.
"The present leaders of commissions and auxiliary bodies will continue their work, but the leadership may be reshuffled as soon as the revision (of the standing order) is complete," Agung told the press after presiding over the plenary meeting.
Meanwhile, Susilo hailed the new development in the House, and ordered Cabinet ministers and other officials to respond positively to any invitation from the lawmakers for a hearing.
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro and State Minister of Communications and Information Sofyan A. Djalil will be the first ministers to attend a House meeting, set for Wednesday.
The president's instruction, however, does not apply to Ryamizard if he is asked to appear at the House as part of the process to select the new TNI commander.