House pledges to finish 45 bills
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representatives (DPR) pledged on Monday to finish deliberating 45 bills, including 22 on the creation of new regencies and mayoralties, in the current session that ends on Dec. 19.
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, in his opening speech marking the beginning of the session on Monday, urged lawmakers to pay special attention to the deliberation of the draft 2004 state budget so it could be endorsed by the date of its implementation in January 2004.
"The focus of the House's activities will be on finishing the deliberation of the draft 2004 state budget. We are optimistic it will be finished on time," Akbar said.
Only 212, or less than half, of the House's 496 members attended the opening meeting. No explanation was given on the absence of the 284 other lawmakers.
The plenary meeting was supposed to begin at 9:30 a.m., but started late because of poor attendance.
Only 184 House members showed up at 9:30 a.m., and that number rose to 212 when the session was finally opened at 10:00 a.m.
The head of the House secretariat for the plenary meeting, Subianto, said although the meeting opened below quorum, the meeting was valid because it was not a forum to make a decision.
Akbar said lawmakers would continue the deliberation of many unfinished bills, including bills on the State Administrative Court (PTUN), the Supreme Court (MA) and the State Prosecutors' Office.
On the deliberation of the contentious water resource bill, Akbar said he hoped the bill would be discussed carefully, and suggested fellow lawmakers to listen to the people's aspirations.
Commenting on the delay in the deliberation of many bills, Akbar called on President Megawati Soekarnoputri to task ministers to discuss the bills with the legislators immediately.
The House has, in the past, promised to finish deliberating many bills, but has never fulfilled its legislation targets due to the poor discipline among legislators.
In its last session from Aug. 15 to Sept. 26, the House pledged to finish deliberating 30 bills, but managed to endorse only three bills, including one on the revised 2003 state budget.
Bills targeted for endorsement ------------------------------------------------------------ No. Subject ------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Procedure of Legislation 2. Presidency 3. Banking Credit 4. Freedom of Information 5. Medical Practice 6. Sports 7. Bankruptcy 8. Pension Fund 9. Bank Liquidation 10. Agriculture 11. Fisheries 12. Batam Free Trade 13. General Court 14. Supreme Court 15. Judges 16. Attorneys 17. Witness and Victim Protection 18. State Administrative Court 19. Eradication of Race Discrimination 20. Jakarta Administration 21. Post Office Affairs 22. Domestic Violence 23. Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers 24. West Sulawesi Province 25. Water Resources 26. Judicial Commission 27. Ombudsman 28. State Secrecy 29. National Insurance 30. Monetary Authority Source: The House of Representatives