House mulls law on wealth report

JAKARTA: Legislators are mulling a new law to force fellow legislators and state officials to submit a declaration of their wealth to the Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) in response to KPKPN's statement that some 150 legislators had failed to report their wealth as demanded.

"We'll hold a meeting shortly between all factions to discuss what to do to enact a law that would compel officials to submit this (wealth report)," said House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Muhaimin Iskandar on Thursday.

About one fifth of the 700 legislators at the House and the People's Consultative Assembly have failed to return the reports, although they had been given a year to do so, according to KPKPN.

The audit commission was established last year to audit the wealth of public servants and lawmakers. Submission of the reports is mandatory but not regulated by law. --JP