House passes education bill

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The House of Representatives endorsed the controversial education bill on Wednesday despite the absence of the largest faction, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

In its letter read out by deputy House secretary general Faisal Djamal, PDI Perjuangan said it would stick to the previous agreement signed by representatives of all factions to delay the endorsement until June 17 in order to give the House time to disseminate information on the bill to the public.

The plenary session was adjourned overnight to allow the PDI Perjuangan faction to present its view of the bill after it boycotted the assembly.

"We originally agreed with the substance of the bill, we just want time for dialog with the people and religious leaders to ease the controversy," PDI Perjuangan legislator Noviantika Nasution told The Jakarta Post by phone.

The party's chairwoman, President Megawati Soekarnoputri, reportedly ordered the faction to push for a delay due to the opposition. PDI Perjuangan faction members boycotted the plenary session on Tuesday, forcing lengthy lobbying that resulted in an agreement to postpone the bill's passage for a week.

It remains unclear why PDI Perjuangan, the largest faction with 153 seats, made the belated move.

Debate on the bill began on Oct. 1, 2001 and the faction did not clearly communicate its opposition to the bill until the final day of deliberations on June 9.

The bill has apparently divided the nation by religion, with most of Muslim community in favor of it and the minority Christian community against it. The two sides have persistently put pressures on the House to heed their demands.

A PDI Perjuangan legislator and a close aide of Megawati who requested anonymity, acknowledged the party chairwoman was late in understanding the substance of the bill.

Despite their faction's approval, a number of legislators expressed their opposition to the bill, including Tunggul Sirait, Gregorius Seto Haryanto, Arnold Nicolas Radjawane, Manasse Malo from the Love the Nation Democratic Party (PDKB), Berni Tamara and Emanuel Blegur both from Golkar.

Spokeswoman for the Indonesian Nationhood Unity (KKI) faction Astrid Susanto said that although the bill made some progress, it also contained controversial articles.

KKI joined PDI Perjuangan in opposition to immediate endorsement of the bill on Tuesday but voted in favor of it on Wednesday.

Golkar legislator Baharuddin Aritonang admitted that the debate on the education bill could not be separated from the vested interests of the parties ahead of the 2004 elections.

He said political parties, including Golkar, agreed to endorse or reject the bill to win the hearts of constituents or lure votes ahead of the 2004 elections.

Like PDI Perjuangan, Golkar is a nationalist-oriented party.

It took the House just one hour to complete the session, which was chaired by House deputy speaker Muhaimin Iskandar.

Representing the government, Minister of National Education Abdul Malik Fadjar asserted the need to disseminate the bill to the public in a bid to reduce controversy and tension.

The minister admitted he met President Megawati on Wednesday afternoon to tell her the intentions of the seven House factions.

"As the President, she let the House continue its agenda," Malik told the press after the plenary meeting, which ended at 8:30 p.m.

Nur Iskandar Albarsany of the National Awakening Party (PKB) and Priyo Budi Santoso of Golkar regretted the absence of the PDI Perjuangan faction, saying it would give Megawati a pretext not to sign the bill.

The 1945 Constitution states that a bill will come to effect within 30 days of the House's endorsement, even without the President's approval.

Highlights of the education bill

Article 7: All citizens aged between seven and 15 years must obtain basic education.

Article 12: Central and regional administrations must provide funds for the education of citizens aged between seven and 15 years.

Article 13 (1): Each student has the right to get religious instruction by teachers of the same faith.

Article 37: Educational subjects must consider: Improvement of faith, good conduct, potency, intellectuality, talent, development needs, demands of the industrial sector, religion, and national unity.

Article 68: Individuals or institutions that issue illegal education certificates face a maximum 10 years in jail or Rp 1 billion (US$120,000) fine.

Article 71: Thesis fraud punishable by two years imprisonment or Rp 200 million fine.