House does not perform: Watchdog

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.