House eager to boost transparency

JAKARTA: A special committee in the House deliberating the legislative mechanism began working on Wednesday, pledging to boost transparency.

Hamdan Zoelva, the committee chairman, said legislators would heed the public's call for a transparent deliberation process at the House.

He said all bill deliberations should be declared open to the public unless the issue is a threat to the country's sovereignty.

Fellow legislator Agun Gunandjar Sudarsa expressed a similar concern, saying that the public should be given access to the legislative process.

They made the statement on the sidelines of the committee meeting, which was held behind closed-doors.

Today, most deliberations are open to the public, unless they discuss crucial issues -- a situation that has raised speculations of "back-room deals" among factions. -- JP