House pledges to finish 41 bills
House pledges to finish 41 bills
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representatives (DPR) made a familiar promise when
it resumed its sitting period on Monday, boasting to complete the
deliberation of all 41 bills before the start of the next recess,
which commences on June 28.
A quick calculation shows that the lawmakers will have to
endorse an average of one bill every day if they are to live up
to that pledge.
One does not have to go far back in history to see that the
legislative body always misses its target. In the previous 38-day
sitting period, the House only endorsed 18 of the 53 bills listed
on its legislation agenda.
Among the bills given top priority this time around are bills
on presidential elections, on the composition of legislative
bodies, on the national education system and on the
constitutional court.
In his opening speech, House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said the
special committees deliberating the bills on presidential
elections and the composition of legislative bodies had given the
public the chance to give advice or articulate their aspirations.
He praised public access to the deliberation, saying that it
would help create qualified and acceptable legislation.
Of the 41 bills on the list, 28 were initiated by House
members, which used to take a longer time to endorse than those
sponsored by the government. A clear example is the broadcasting
bill, which was endorsed in November last year after two years of
grueling debate.
The chairman of the House's legislation body, Zein Badjeber,
said that although the bills were proposed by the legislators,
the House could not start deliberation without the presence of
government officials.
Zein said the House had asked the President to assign the
related ministers to join the deliberation of the bills.
"There are more than 10 bills which have not been responded to
by the government," Zein told The Jakarta Post, adding that the
bill on the constitutional court was among the bills in question.
The 1945 Constitution, amended in August last year, mandates
the government and the House to have the constitutional court
established by August this year.
"We will on May 13 form a special committee to deliberate the
constitutional court bill," Zein said.
Unlike the previous opening plenary sessions, no interruptions
were heard in protest of Akbar's appropriateness to chair the
meeting on Monday. Akbar, who is also the Golkar Party chairman,
was sentenced to three years in jail for a graft case, but is
free pending his appeal to the Supreme Court.
Three legislators did interrupt the meeting as soon as Akbar
finished his speech, but none of them questioned Akbar's legal
status.
Tunggul Sirait of the National Awakening Party faction asked
legislators to focus their attention on the reopening of sawmill
firm PT Inti Indorayon Utama in the North Sumatra town of Porsea,
while Mawardi Abdullah and Nurdahri Ibrahim of the Crescent Star
Party and United Development Party factions respectively urged
the House to take a closer look at Aceh's problems.
A lack of discipline remains an integral part of legislators
as the plenary meeting was opened 40 minutes behind schedule to
allow the session to meet the quorum. Only 248 of the 494
legislators were present when Akbar finally declared the sitting
period open.
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List of bills for further deliberation
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1. Presidential election
2. Composition of legislative bodies
3. Freedom of information
4. Revision to Bank Indonesia law
5. State treasury
6. State finance accountability
7. Mechanism of legislation enactment
8. Terrorist eradication
9. National education system
10. Industrial dispute settlement
11. Bankruptcy
12. Attorney
13. Migrant workers protection
14. Batam free trade area
15. Postal affairs
16. Establishment of West Sulawesi province
17. Fisheries
18. Agriculture
19. Witness protection
20. Racial discrimination eradication
21. Supreme Court
22. State administrative court
23. General court
24. Jakarta administration
25. Judicial commission
26. Constitutional court
27. Ombudsman
28. Presidency
29. Sports
30. Geothermal
31. Bank liquidation
32. Justice authorities
33. Medical practice
34. Establishment of some regencies
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Source: House secretariat