House factions still divided on structure of DPR and MPR
JAKARTA (JP): Factions at the House of Representatives continued to be divided on Thursday over how much representation the Armed Forces should have in the next legislative body.
Lively debates also failed to bring agreement among legislators deliberating political bills on the size and structure of the House and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), to be formed after general elections of next June 7.
Buttu Hutapea of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) said that the Armed Forces (ABRI) faction proposed an allotment of 55 seats to maintain a major role in the House, while the United Development Party (PPP) faction wants an allotment of only 10 seats for ABRI.
The dominant Golkar proposed 25 seats, while PDI has yet to take a stance on the issue.
Djufrie Asmoredjo of PPP said that his faction campaigned for an allotment of only 10 seats for ABRI in line with the 1998 MPR decree stipulating a gradual expulsion of ABRI from the House.
PPP has called for an end to ABRI's political role, including its presence in the House. ABRI has come under fierce criticism over rampant human rights abuses, especially in Aceh, East Timor and Irian Jaya, committed during the New Order era.
Buttu also said that PDI wanted the next House to have 600 total seats, PPP wanted 500, while Golkar and ABRI proposed 550. The current House has 500 seats.
Buttu said that PDI wanted more seats so that more political parties would have the opportunity to be represented.
"The number of political parties has reached more than 100, while prospective voters are expected to double in the next elections because of an increased population," he said in a break of the session of the working committee. The committee was deliberating the draft law on the structures and functions of the House, the Assembly and provincial and regency legislatures here on Thursday.
He said that all factions agreed to reduce the number of seats in the Assembly -- currently 1,000 -- but were still divided over the exact size.
"PDI proposes 750 seats, the Golkar and ABRI factions suggest 650 seats, while the PPP faction proposes 600 seats," he said, adding that the committee was expecting a long deliberation over this issue.
Meanwhile, the working committee on the general election agreed to set a two percent electoral threshold, rather than the 10 percent stipulated by the draft law.
Harminto Agustono of the PPP faction said that only political parties which win two percent of the eligible seats will be allowed to participate in the 2004 general election.
They would be considered to have failed to win public support, but could merge with others in order to contest the next poll.
The working committee deliberating the draft law on political parties agreed that parties may name their own ideology, but are obliged to accept, and mention in their statutes, Pancasila as the state ideology.
Yahya Zaini of Golkar said the agreement showed much progress. Political parties can now base themselves upon religions or other ideologies. This move is in accordance with the 1998 MPR decree to lift the 1983 MPR decree which required political parties and mass organizations to accept Pancasila as their sole basis. The draft law requires all political parties to accept Pancasila as the sole state ideology. (rms)