House does not perform: Watchdog

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Independent legislative watchdog Teliti said the House of Representatives continued to disappoint despite being filled with younger and better educated members.

The watchdog said legislators continued to focus on the interests of their respective political parties rather than of the people. It also said many lawmakers were distracted from their work in the House because they moonlighted.

Celebrating its first anniversary in a gathering here on Wednesday, Teliti said people were disappointed in the behavior and work of lawmakers, who have almost completed the first year of their five-year terms.

"The drama began with the emergence of the so-called Nationhood Coalition and the People's Coalition, which deadlocked the election of the House leadership. The drama reached its peak with the recently proposed raise for legislators amid the current economic difficulties," the chairman of Teliti's steering committee, Amir Karamoy, said during the anniversary ceremony.

He said the House's code of conduct prohibited House members from moonlighting, but according to Teliti's recent survey a majority of legislators remained active in work outside the legislature.

Teliti, which was set up on Aug. 24, 2004, includes political analysts, legal experts, economists and environmentalists. The group conducts studies and examines the actions of the House.

Amir said that after the 2004 legislative election, more than 70 percent of the current 550 legislators were new faces, and almost 50 percent of them between the ages of 25 and 49. However, this infusion of fresh blood was unable to repair the legislative body's badly tarnished image, according to Teliti.

"People have high expectations because besides being new and fresh, 49 percent of the legislators are university graduates and 33 percent have master's or PhDs, but in reality many legislators have no idealism or professionalism," he said.

"A majority of legislators are just fighting for their personal interests and their parties' interests, instead of the interests of the people," he said.

The current House has only passed two laws, one on the state budget and one on industrial relations, out of a target of endorsing 55 bills.

Teliti member Pande Radja Silalahi said new members of the House found it difficult to make changes because of the entrenched system, backed up by law, which "forced" lawmakers to be fully devoted to the interests of their parties or risk being recalled.

He said a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly was needed to review the 1945 Constitution to change the situation.

Pande said legislators would have trouble winning over the public in the 2009 legislative election if they did not improve their performances over the next four years.

Teliti chairman Nanda Hasibuan questioned the Constitution, which defines political parties as the only gate through which to enter the political stage.

He said the Constitution should be amended and relevant laws revised to allow independent candidates to contest the presidential election.

He said the 2004 election victory of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who were not backed by any of the major political parties, was a lesson that independent candidates could triumph in a direct presidential election.