House delays talks on AGO's budget

JAKARTA: The House of Representatives Commission III overseeing law, human rights and security will delay talks on budget allocations for the Attorney General's Office until last week's war of words between the two powerful institutions gets resolved, legislators said on Monday.

Commission chairman Teras Narang said after an internal meeting on Monday that he would inform House speaker Agung Laksono about the commission's decision as soon as possible.

The commission is likely to demand that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono formally reprimand Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh, following a heated exchange between the state's top prosecutors and the commission members last week. It started when one legislator called the prosecutors "village thieves", which prompted the prosecutors to object vehemently, effectively ending the meeting before any constructive conclusions could be reached.

The House's ethics committee is also scheduled to hold a meeting to determine whether the whole affair constituted a display of contempt of the House of Representatives. --JP