House subpoena right may lead to extortion
House subpoena right may lead to extortion
Moch. N. Kurniawan and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Constitutional law expert Jimly Ashidiqqie warned that the right
of the House of Representatives to subpoena members of the public
could be misused by legislators to blackmail businesspeople.
He recalled that the subpoena right as stipulated in Law No.
4/1999 on the composition of legislative bodies was misused by
regional councillors as an instrument of extortion.
"The use of force must only be imposed on government
officials. If the House has the right to summon businessmen or
ordinary people, they can become the object of extortion," Jimly
told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
He suggested that the subpoena right be limited only to the
investigation of certain issues involving state officials which
was being conducted by the police or the Attorney General's
Office.
Jimly was commenting on the recently endorsed bill on
composition of legislative bodies.
Article 30 of the bill allows the House to summon state
officials, executives of state institutions, and ordinary
citizens for questioning.
The House is also allowed to order the police to detain an
individual for a maximum duration of 15 days if the summons is
ignored.
The article was made to ensure that government officials do
not skip House questioning.
Minister of Trade and Industry Rini Suwandi, for example,
recently refused to meet the House summons to clarify her
involvement on the purchase of Russian Sukhoi jet fighters, while
according to the law the purchase should have been conducted by
the Ministry of Defense.
The House is currently investigating the US$197 million Sukhoi
deal, which may lead to the cancellation of the controversial
deal.
The Law No. 4/1999 which is to be replaced by this bill poses
a stricter penalty for those who ignore a summons of the House.
It says that those who defy a House summons can be charged with
contempt of the legislature and may face a maximum of sentence of
one-year imprisonment.
Jimly was among the experts consulted by the House during the
deliberation of the bill.
A lawmaker involved in the debate played down the comments of
critics who said the bill would make the House a "superbody".
"The authority to order the police to arrest an individual for
a maximum duration of 15 days is actually lighter than that of
outgoing Law No. 4/1999," Sukowaluyo Mintorahardjo of the
Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) said on
Saturday.
"The criticism is ridiculous as no one protested when the
House passed Law No. 4/1999 that contains such a quite similar
article. But now everybody is blowing the issue out of
proportion."
He maintained there must be punishment for individuals or
officials who defied a House summons on important cases,
otherwise others will just follow suit.
He said the House would only exercise its authority when it
comes to its investigative rights.
The House, he said, would not review the newly endorsed bill.
Political analyst Fachri Ali, however, said that the authority
to order the police to arrest individuals was simply not within
the authority of the House.
"If the government officials refuse to fulfill the House
summons, the House could file a protest to the officials'
superior. It's beyond the House's authority to order the police
to arrest them," he said.
He added the subpoena right gave excessive power to the House,
which also now has a role in deciding approving the appointment
of ambassadors.
"In many countries the appointment of ambassadors is just
carried out by the government. With our procedure to discuss the
ambassadors' appointment at the House, the process is now very
long and complicated. We will be the object of international
mockery," he said.