House delays decision on Bulog

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