House passes international agreements bill

House passes international agreements bill

JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives on Wednesday
officially passed a bill on international agreements which will
give greater power to legislators to intervene in government
decisions to enter into international agreements.

In a plenary session led by House deputy speaker Soetardjo
Soerjogoeritno and attended by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is
currently filling in for Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab,
all 10 factions in the House approved the 22-article law which
repeals Presidential Decree No. 286/1960 on Concluding
International Agreements with Foreign Powers.

"We call on all parties to pay attention to Article 10 of the
Law which stipulates that foreign loans should be approved by the
House," Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)
spokesman Amris Hasan said.

Amris said his faction insisted that all agreements with the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) concerning the State Budget
(APBN) should have regard to the new law.

He said the House should start to increase its supervision
over foreign loans.

Meanwhile, Golkar party faction spokesman Happy Bone
Zulkarnaen viewed the approval as a sign of the end of the
executive's domination.

"The Law aims to give more control and power to the House
within the framework of a checks and balances system," Happy
said.

He stressed that the involvement of the House in international
agreements, especially those concerning foreign loans, would
improve transparency.

He added that his faction is demanding the House soon draft a
bill on foreign loans and grants. (jun)