House Speaker inaugurates new legislators
House Speaker inaugurates new legislators
JAKARTA (JP): House Speaker Wahono reasserted yesterday the
supervisory role of the legislative body, saying that no
government policies should be made without its support.
The government should not spend a single rupiah of tax payers'
money on development projects without the prior consent of the
House of Representatives, he said.
"This is only natural because the money comes from the people"
he said during a ceremony at which he swore in 26 new members of
the House of Representatives and the People's Consultative
Assembly.
Wahono stressed that all government policies on development
were subject to scrutiny by the legislative body as required, he
said, by the Constitution.
"There is no reason to assume that the House means to simply
find fault when it asks the government for details of certain
policies," Wahono said.
House members have frequently complained in the past that the
government has failed to consult with it before the bureaucracy
has issued policies that have major impact on the public, such as
raising highway tolls.
Very recently, legislators were outraged at not being
consulted before State Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports
Hayono Isman announced that the government would raise funds from
the public through a savings scheme with prizes next year. The
future of the plan is currently in doubt because of protests from
the public and legislators.
Twenty-one of the 26 new House and Consultative Assembly
members installed yesterday were representatives of the
Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI). Under Indonesian law, every House
member is automatically an Assembly member.
The 26 replaced representatives who were either rotated or
dismissed by the organizations they represent.
Among the prominent new appointees to the legislative body was
Hadimulyo of the United Development Party. He replaced the
outspoken Sri Bintang Pamungkas, who lost his seat for
criticizing several cabinet ministers at hearings and for
questioning the state ideology, Pancasila.
Bintang is facing prosecution on charges of insulting
President Soeharto by taking part in one of a number of
demonstrations against the Indonesian government in Germany in
April.
No one was sworn in yesterday to replace another outspoken
legislator, Bambang Warih Kusumo of the ruling Golkar party. Like
Bintang, Bambang was fired this year by his organization for
allegedly insulting cabinet ministers and for deviating from his
party's official line.
Four of the new faces are regional representatives from East
Java -- Maj. Gen. Imam Utomo and Maj. Gen. Roesmanhadi -- and
East Timor -- Armindo Soares and Col. Kiki Syahnakri.
Among the new House and Consultative Assembly members are
prominent ABRI personnel: Maj. Gen. Theo Syafei, a former East
Timor military commander and Maj. Gen. Hari Sabarno, former
assistant to the ABRI chief of socio-political affairs.
Wahono, a retired lieutenant general and former Golkar boss,
said that the ABRI representation in the House was under public
scrutiny and, therefore, the members should work hard to maintain
the military's good name.
In order not to tarnish ABRI's image, the legislators should
stick to the Constitution, he said, and put the public interest
before their own. (pan)