House factions continue talks to end deadlock

House factions continue talks to end deadlock

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The 10 factions in the House of Representatives continued their
negotiations on Sunday night in an attempt to put an end to the
weeks-long dispute over commission posts, which has stopped the
House from functioning.

The five factions grouped in the People's Coalition pledged to
join a House plenary session scheduled for Tuesday, which is
being arranged by the rival Nationhood Coalition.

Muhammad Najib and Dradjat Wibowo, legislators from the
National Mandate Party (PAN) that is part of the People's
Coalition, confirmed their faction was ready to attend the
plenary meeting.

"Whatever is decided in the meeting tonight, we will attend
Tuesday's plenary session because this was the instruction of PAN
leader Amien Rais," Dradjat said.

The planned session would endorse the membership of the
People's Coalition in House commissions and auxiliary bodies,
which had been established by the rival Nationhood Coalition in
an earlier plenary meeting, lawmakers said.

"We have all agreed that the solution must not cause the
(opposing) factions to lose face," United Development Party (PPP)
legislator Achmad Muqowam told The Jakarta Post.

Ali Masykur Musa of the National Awakening Party (PKB) said
that during Sunday's meeting, his faction wanted to surrender
four of its eight deputy chairmanship posts in the commissions
and auxiliary bodies to help end the deadlock.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) offered to
free up one of its six chairmanship posts and five deputy
chairmanship posts, while the Golkar Party was willing to forgo
its six deputy chairmanship posts, he said.

The meeting was attended by representatives from the 10
disputing factions, including M. Hatta of Golkar, Panda Nababan
of PDI-P and Abdillah Toha of PAN.

Also at attendance were Untung Wahono of the Prosperous
Justice Party (PKS), Ali Masykur Musa of PKB, Lukman Hakim of the
PPP, Sukartono of the Democratic Party, Apri Sukandar of the
Prosperous Peace Party (PDS), Bursah Zarnubi of the Star Reform
Party (PBR) and Idealisman Dachi of the joint Reform Pioneer Star
faction.

House Speaker Agung Laksono and his deputies were not present
in the meeting held at Mulia Hotel near the House compound.

PDI-P legislator Zainal Arifin said the forum was aimed at
finding a "win-win solution" to the deadlock.

In the Sunday meeting, the opposing factions also continued
negotiating over the possibility of improving the House's
standing orders.

The House is divided into two camps; the Nationhood Coalition
comprising Golkar, PDI-P and PDS, and supported by the PKB; and
the People's Coalition of the PPP, the Democratic Party, PAN,
PKS, and several minor parties.

The split followed a dispute over the mechanism for selecting
the leaders of the 11 commissions and five auxiliary bodies. The
Nationhood Coalition and PKB insisted the chairmanship posts be
put to a vote, while the People's Coalition wanted the posts to
be distributed proportionally among the House factions.

A proportional distribution would ensure smaller parties and
parties in the People's Coalition, shared chairmanship posts.

Because their proposal was rejected by the Nationhood
Coalition, the People's Coalition factions boycotted a plenary
meeting that established the commissions and auxiliary bodies by
revising the House's standing orders.

With the presence of 309 of 547 House members, the Nationhood
Coalition claimed that all the decisions of the plenary meeting
were valid.

However, the People's Coalition factions did not recognize the
elections because they were not decided with two-thirds of House
members present; the number required to hold a plenary session.

These factions have formed "quasi-commissions" instead.