House fails to represent the people, survey says

JAKARTA (JP): A survey conducted by the Indonesian Consortium for Public Opinion Polling found there was a great divide between the aspirations of the people and the actions of the House of Representatives.

The survey of 3,000 people of voting age in 20 provinces found 49 percent of respondents felt the House has failed to represent wholly the interests of the people.

An example of this divide is that over two-thirds of those surveyed supported direct presidential elections, while the prevailing position in the House is against direct elections.

Most of those surveyed said they would like to see direct election implemented in the 2004 general election.

"This result clearly shows that most people are ready for direct presidential elections, but there is no political will from the House to endorse this because they continue to believe the public is not ready," said Daniel Dhakidae, one of the poll analysts.

The legislators' lack of political sensibility, methodology and ethics have become a great obstacle, Daniel added.

The poll was conducted by direct interview in July by the consortium and LP3ES.

The survey also shows 53 percent of respondents believe the country's economic problems are more urgent than the political issues which need to be resolved.

"This shows people are concerned about their income and how to survive economically. Legislators on the other hand have shown a lack attention for nonpolitical issue. They are too busy playing politics," political observer Fachry Ali said when reviewing the survey results.

Legislators should focus more of their attention on issues such as the rising price of fuel and unhusked rice, because these are the actual problems faced by the people, he added.

On the government's performance, an overwhelming 80 percent of respondents said there was no progress from the previous year.

However, President and Vice President fared relatively well in the poll.

While opinion on President Abdurrahman Wahid's performance was split, Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri was rated "good" by 57 percent of respondents. Only 23 percent said she was not doing a good job.

Some 49 percent said House Speaker Akbar Tandjung's performance was "good", compared to 15 percent who rated it as "bad".

Forty-three percent of respondents said People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais was doing a "good" job, while 24 percent said he was doing a "bad" job.

In response to the criticism, councilor Suryadharma Ali of the United Development Party (PPP) argued most legislators found it difficult to access information from the public due to a lack of expert staff and funding problems.

"The House's budget is only 0.25 percent of the state budget. We work on numerous issues here with limited funding," he said. (edt)