House faction probes assault on councilor

House faction probes assault on councilor

JAKARTA (JP): The United Development Party (PPP) is sending a
special team to investigate the recent attack on one its
councilors in Surabaya.

Chairman of the PPP faction at the House of Representatives
Hamzah Haz announced the plan yesterday and expressed his party's
disgust with the act of intimidation against Andy Soedirman.

Such actions, he added, undermine the role of legislative
bodies.

"This must be regarded in light of the legislative function,"
Hamzah told the Antara news agency.

Some 200 people vandalized Andy's home on Friday in reaction
to his announcement that he would sue Surabaya Mayor Sunarto
Sumoprawiro for land appropriation discrepancies.

Andy charged that Sunarto appropriated a plot on Jl. Sungkono
without the consent of the city legislative council.

"If cases like this (vandalism) still exist, it clearly
reflects there is no support for policies...toward democratic
development," Hamzah said.

The incidence amounts to a setback in the drive for political
openness and in the House's attempts to act in relation to the
executive office, he said.

"Where is openness and (the role of) correction by the House?"

Intimidating Andy, he stressed, was not only an offense toward
the PPP only but to the whole legislative body, which, he said,
"is expected to play a stronger role in society".

Because the House is routinely faulted for not being critical,
Hamzah said the attack on Andy was probably the result of his
effort to speak up.

"We all hope the House can perform more effectively.
Therefore, this case should not be the concern of the PPP only.
It is a blow to the government also," said Hamzah.

Quoting noted army intellectual Gen. (ret) Sayidiman
Suryohadiprojo, Hamzah said the case also indicated a poor legal
understanding on the part of low-level officials, whose role in
the incident has yet to be determined.

"Incidents like this hamper democracy," he said, adding that
corrective measures should be taken against officials who
intimidate people. (anr)