House pledges to finish 45 bills
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
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No. Subject
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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