House to initiate reform through legislative action
House to initiate reform through legislative action
JAKARTA (JP): The House of Representatives (DPR) made a
surprising and rare decision yesterday to initiate reforms
through the review of key political, economic and legal
legislation.
The decision was announced here yesterday immediately after
House leaders and leading figures of the four factions met to
discuss measures to accommodate growing public appeals for
reform.
"Political reform will be enacted through revisions on the
electoral law, the law on political organizations and Golkar, and
the law on the composition and structure of the People's
Consultative Assembly and the House of Representatives," House
speaker Harmoko told journalists.
"Economic reforms will be enacted through revisions of the
antimonopoly law, the consumer protection law and the banking
law.
"And legal reforms will be accomplished through revisions in
the antisubversion law and the anticorruption law," he added.
Harmoko said each of the House's four factions -- Golkar, the
United Development party (PPP), the Indonesian Democratic Party
(PDI) and the Armed Forces (ABRI) -- would soon act to uphold
people's aspirations through discussions and dialog with related
experts.
"The results will be compiled in a House meeting and proposed
through drafts of laws," he said.
The House's decision comes on the heels of a statement by
President Soeharto that he supported reforms and that
preparations should be made to accommodate them.
Harmoko asserted yesterday that the House was committed to
reforms and said it would employ its rarely used right of
initiative.
"And we'll initiate our own drafts of required laws, instead
of just accommodating the drafts provided by the government," he
said.
The use of the House's right to initiate legislation is seen
by some as a bold decision, especially since legislators have
neglected to use it for some years.
Asked about the possibility of changing the general election
system from a proportional to a district system as hinted by
Soeharto, Harmoko said it would be included in the dialog with
experts and could be accommodated in the draft for the electoral
law.
He said the idea of having Armed Forces members actively
involved in general elections would also be discussed.
Harmoko, however, dismissed the possibility of holding an
extraordinary session of the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR).
"An extraordinary session would be held only if the President
acts against the 1945 Constitution and the State Policy
Guidelines," Harmoko replied when asked. "Currently, there are
not enough grounds to ask for an Assembly extraordinary session".
The 1,000-strong Assembly reelected Soeharto for a seventh
consecutive five-year term in March. (imn)