House slows down talk on Akbar's dismissal
House slows down talk on Akbar's dismissal
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Complicated procedures have put an early damper on moves to show
House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung the door as the
steering committee (Bamus) that was scheduled to discuss the
issue on Thursday failed to reach a quorum.
Of the 76 steering committee members, only 22 turned up for
the much-awaited meeting, which would have decided whether to
proceed with a motion signed by a group of legislators to dismiss
Akbar over his conviction in a Rp 40 billion graft case.
The motion topped the agenda of the meeting, according to
House deputy speaker Tosari Widjaja, but due to the unfulfilled
quorum the meeting was rescheduled for next week.
"I regret this delay because it will affect other agendas of
the House, including the deliberation of numerous bills," Tosari
told the media after closing the meeting.
The meeting opened an hour later than scheduled, at 1:30 p.m.,
as only 11 legislators arrived for the gathering on time.
Chairman of the Reform faction Ahmad Farhan Hamid expressed
disappointment with fellow legislators who skipped the important
meeting for no clear reason.
The Reform faction, consisting of the National Mandate Party
(PAN) and the Justice Party (PK), has been campaigning for
Akbar's dismissal for reasons of morality.
"The motion to dismiss Akbar should be brought to a plenary
meeting," Ahmad said.
Meanwhile, United Development Party (PPP) faction chairman
Barlianta Harahap said the meeting was supposed to decide on
whether the motion to unseat Akbar would be brought to a plenary
meeting or not.
Although a meeting of House leaders last November concluded
that there was no regulation to dismiss the speaker, the
conclusion was not accepted by legislators.
Barlianta suggested that the issue should be discussed in a
plenary meeting to reach a definite decision.
"A plenary meeting is the highest forum in the House to make a
decision. The steering committee meeting is lower than a plenary
session in status but is higher than a House leaders meeting," he
said.
Tari Siwi Utami, an initiator of the motion to unseat Akbar,
expressed concern over the inability of the steering committee to
reach a quorum.
According to her, this trend would worsen the already-tainted
image of the House.
"With the delay, our demand for the establishment of a
disciplinary council becomes more relevant," said Tari of the
National Awakening Party (PKB).
She added she had signed a motion calling for the
establishment of a disciplinary committee circulated by Dwi Ria
Latifa, a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI Perjuangan).
Ria Latifa claimed on Thursday the motion had the support of
20 legislators from various factions, seven of them women
legislators.
She said on Wednesday the call for the establishment of a
disciplinary council would be led by women legislators as male
legislators lacked the courage to do so.
Internal House rules require legislators to collect at least
10 signatories from different factions in support of any
proposal.