'House lacks priority in bill deliberation'

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The lack of priority in bill deliberations by the House of Representatives (DPR) has resulted in the endorsement of only a few bills, most of which suffers a number of shortcomings and will thus be subject to further debate, a legal affairs watchdog says.

Worse still, the deliberation of bills has become the battle ground for political parties to further their own short-term interests, instead of the interests of the people.

The Center for Law and Policy Study (PSHK) said recently in a statement that during the first half of this year, the House was too busy with political wranglings between factions to pursue their own interests, as was evident in the Sukhoi probe and the horse trading that marred the deliberation of the presidential election bill.

It also said the lack of priority had thus made the House susceptible to following agendas brought forth by interested parties.

PSHK Executive Director Bivitri Susanti said the House had no such thing as a priority list, and instead had only a to-do list for short-term objectives.

"It indicates that the House has no integrated view on the improvement of the country's legal system," she said at a seminar here.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said earlier that due to an obligation to fight for their own constituents, it was impossible for factions and legislators to put aside their political interests in deliberating bills.

Bivitri said at times, the House and in particular, the government, were subject to foreign interference in the deliberation of bills.

"It is very clear that strong pressure from certain countries and powerful financial organizations were involved in the deliberation of the bills on intellectual property rights and money laundering," she said.

The U.S. government had put pressure on Indonesia over the widespread infringement of intellectual property rights. It had also considered imposing economic sanctions on the country if it failed to curb the unchecked piracy.

The government also moved quickly to revise Law No. 15/2002 on money laundering to meet the Sept. 30 deadline set by the European Union-backed Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering.

The same holds true for the Antiterrorism Law, which was drafted while the Indonesian government was riding on the coattails of the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism.

The House has frequently been under fire for its sluggishness in producing laws, always missing its legislation target since Jan. 2002.

Of the targeted 41 bills in the April-July 2003 session, the House only endorsed five bills. Legislators and the government had to work while in recess to meet the deadline for the establishment of the Constitutional Court.

Among the bills to be finished during the current session -- from Aug. 15 to Sept. 26 -- are bills on Batam's free trade and open port, agriculture, medical professionals, the protection of overseas workers and sports.

Didi Supriyanto, a legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction, offered the excuse that the poor legislation record was due to the lack of resources at the House's disposal.

"Only 20 percent of House members have adequate legislative skills. And some of them work on two or three special committees to deliberate bills," he said, and that 80 percent of legislators of Commission II on legal affairs were also members of several special committees.

He also said the House Legislation Body was not provided with enough expert staff to help with the legal drafting, while blaming the government for its tardiness in appointing relevant ministers to deliberate House bills.