House delays decision on Bulog

JAKARTA: The House of Representatives has pushed back to July 1 a plenary session to decide whether to establish a special committee to investigate the role of House Speaker Akbar Tandjung in a financial scandal involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).

The decision to move back the plenary meeting from June 11 was made at the request of the Reform faction, which said the original date clashed with the planned congress of the main party in the faction, the National Mandate Party (PAN). The congress is scheduled for Batam, Riau, from June 10 to June 12.

"We were afraid that not all of the House members would have been able to attend the plenary session," House Deputy Speaker Tosari Wijaya said on Thursday, adding that after June 11 House members would be very busy with their respective legislative agendas until the end of the month.

PAN has 34 seats in the House, which requires that two-thirds of its 500 members be in attendance to make a decision on the formation of the special committee, either through a vote or consensus.

Akbar is currently being tried for his role in the Rp 40 billion scandal, which allegedly took place when he was minister/state secretary in 1999.

The House initially was slated to vote on whether to establish a special committee in mid-March, but the influential Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) pushed for a last- minute delay shortly after Akbar was detained. The Megawati Soekarnoputri-led party suggested the House wait for the legal process to run its course before making a decision.

The National Awakening Party (PKB), which has voiced support for the special committee, expressed disappointment with the delay, but said it accepted it. -- JP