House members make little progress: Journalists' forum

House members make little progress: Journalists' forum

JAKARTA (JP): The 500-member House of Representatives which
was sworn in just over a year ago has produced little concrete
progress despite its rambunctious and open legislative debates.

Such was the conclusion and criticism of the Mass
Communications Forum (FKM), an organization which brings together
journalists who cover the daily activities of the House.

In a meeting here on Tuesday to evaluate the House's
performance, the Forum said the House, together with the People's
Consultative Assembly, had succeeded in retaking "the political
crown" from the executive body but in many cases the legislative
body failed to fulfill its functions and tasks.

Sulistyo, chairman of the forum, welcomed the legislature's
newfound empowerment, but said that the added clout has yet to be
translated into concrete results.

"Over the last year, the House has been too busy politicking
and concentrating on its control function while ignoring many
other important tasks," he said.

The evaluation was based on inputs from journalists grouped in
the forum.

Sulistyo noted that the legislative body has passed only 14
laws in comparison to the 116 bills submitted to the House,
adding that the Forum was also pessimistic that the legislative
body could reach its target of producing 300 laws by the end of
its term in 2004.

Sulistyo further pointed out that while the House has
frequently criticized the government, it itself had failed to
take political decisions in respect of the exercise of its
control function.

He said that the factions continue to be indecisive as many of
the political issues debated in the House were taken up at the
personal initiative of legislators themselves.

Suradi, the forum's secretary general, meanwhile questioned
the legislators' commitment to complying with the House's
internal rules, especially concerning their attendance at
commission hearings.

"According to data from the House's secretariat general, at
least 13 legislators from various factions have not attended
commission hearings over the last three months (August, September
and October) for no clear reasons while no action has been taken
against them," he said.

The 13 included Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri's
husband Taufiq Kiemas and Abdul Madjid, both from the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction, Slamet
Effendy Yusuf of the Golkar Party faction, Amien Rais of the
reform faction and Matori Abdul Djalil of the National Awakening
Party (PKB) faction.

"The legislators' constituents would certainly be disappointed
if they knew about this," Suradi added. (rms)