House fuel talks erupt into brawl

Tony Hotland and Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A brawl among legislators ended the second day of the House of Representatives plenary session to discuss the government's fuel hike policy, leaving the public disgusted by the immaturity of their representatives.

The session was intended to be a follow-up of a stalled session the night earlier, during which the 10 House factions failed to agree on whether or not the House should establish a political stance on the fuel hike policy.

Six factions opposed the policy in Tuesday's session, two (Democrat Party and Democratic Pioneer Star Party) supported it, and two (Golkar Party and United Development Party) did not state a clear stance.

Anticipating a possible deadlock, House and faction leaders gathered for a three-hour consultative meeting on Wednesday morning, which resulted in two voting options.

First, was to vote whether the House should let the related commissions hold further discussions with the government on the fuel hike policy, or second, that the House should immediately decide a stance on the issue. If the second option were picked, another vote would have to be arranged on whether the House should accept the policy or reject it.

However, three factions -- the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the National Awakening Party, and the Prosperous Peace Party -- objected to this mechanism, insisting that the House immediately vote on whether to accept or reject the fuel hike.

Interruptions and objections immediately began flying fast and furious after House speaker Agung Laksono of Golkar commenced the session at 3:30 p.m.

Those who disagreed, particularly from PDI-P, started bombarding the leaders with objections and complaining that the plenary session leaders were not taking into account the objections expressed by the commissions over the policy during a consultative meeting with the government on Monday night.

Those who agreed with Agung on the two options responded with loud retorts of their own in the general direction of those who opposed.

After 45 minutes of verbal sparring without any sign of an agreement, Agung announced that the House would work on the two options. This prompted two PDI-P faction members to leap up on to the raised podium of the House to protest the decision.

Agung, who hails from Golkar, appeared to be cornered by PDI-P members, so a number of Golkar men scrambled up on the platform and jostled and argued with PDI-P members.

A number of legislators from PDI-P followed suit, and the melee was on, complete with shoving and a few punches by dozens of other lawmakers eager to join or diffuse the fray in front of the speaker's platform.

The violence lasted for several minutes with at least two confirmed knock downs, but apparently no serious injuries. Agung and other House leaders were quickly whisked out of the room, and the House members started to dissipate after security people intervened.

In his post-brawl press conference, Agung said he was sorry about the incident, but blamed it on the immaturity of legislators and their inability to respond in a civil manner to other people with different opinions.

The session is scheduled to continue Thursday morning after yet another consultative meeting with faction leaders.

Separately, Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi quoted President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as saying that the government hoped there would be no more hostility among legislators and that the House would find the best solution. The government, he added, would definitely be open to input from the House over the issue.