House leaders ask for more funds for passage of bills
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Legislators are requesting additional funds from the government in order to accelerate the deliberation of bills submitted by members of the House of Representatives.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri said here on Tuesday that House leaders and faction chairs told her that her administration had to spend more money if it wanted legislators to speed up their debate of bills.
"The House is asking for additional funds to endorse the bills, as we need to speed up the law-making process," Megawati said after a meeting with House leaders and faction chairs.
Megawati, who was accompanied by House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, did not specify the amount of funds requested by the legislators or whether she had agreed to the request.
The President, however, stressed that she and House leaders had agreed to accelerate the deliberation of bills already submitted to the legislature.
Akbar, who presided over the meeting, said: "We agreed to improve the facilities needed for the bill endorsement process."
The House's request for additional funds is unlikely to be given a warm reception by the public, which is already angry over what they see as the legislature's poor performance in endorsing bills, which is constitutionally its main duty.
House members had hoped to complete deliberations on 22 bills in its current session, which ends on Friday. So far, however, the House has endorsed only two bills -- one on copyrights and another on the national science and technology system. With only three days left in the session, it seems highly unlikely that the lawmakers will reach their target.
In the House's previous session, from Jan. 7 to March 28, the House endorsed only three bills, after having set a target of 24.
A lack of discipline and political bickering are seen as the principal reasons behind the House's failure to meet its legislation targets.
Despite what can only be described as a subpar performance, legislators still receive Rp 12.4 million (US$1,370) a month in salary and allowances. In addition, they receive Rp 300,000 per hearing with counterparts and Rp 750,000 for every bill deliberated.
Political analyst Andi Mallarangeng said on Tuesday the proposal by the House leaders to the President was a ploy to squeeze more money from the state budget.
"This is more or less extortion," Andi told The Jakarta Post.
Legislator Akil Mochtar of the Golkar Party, however, defended the request for additional funding, saying the money would be used to finance comparative studies in foreign countries and consultations with scholars, as well as to outline the bills and make them available for public consumption.
He revealed that the government allocated some Rp 3 billion for the deliberation of three political bills -- one on political parties, one on general elections and a third on the composition of the House, the People's Consultative Assembly and regional legislatures.
"We need at least Rp 1 billion for the deliberation of each bill," Akil told the Post.
While acknowledging that each legislator receives Rp 750,000 for every bill deliberated, they sometimes have to wait for up to two years for the money.
"The deliberation of the recently endorsed copyright bill lasted for two years. Therefore, we had to wait for two years to get the Rp 750,000."
During the meeting, House leaders and faction chairs also quizzed the President about the situation in Aceh and Papua, and other matters related to law enforcement.
One of the President's aides said Megawati fielded the majority of the questions, while Vice President Hamzah Haz remained silent.
A number of Cabinet ministers filled out the President's answers to some of the questions, but apparently there was not enough time for detailed answers to all the inquiries. Both the House and the government agreed to hold another meeting before the end of this month.
"This is a positive response from the government and a clear sign of its intention to build a good relationships with the House," Akbar said about the meeting.
"We will continue these kinds of meetings in the future as it is important to find a clear base for the country's policies," Megawati said.
Legislator's monthly income
- Basic salary: Rp 4.2 million
- Allowances: Rp 7.6 million
- Family assistance: 10 percent of basic salary, plus 2 percent of basic salary for each dependent child for a maximum of two children.
- On top of that, a legislator receives Rp 300,000 per hearing with counterparts, and Rp 750,000 per bill deliberated.