House to miss terrorism bill target

JAKARTA: The deliberation of the newly-submitted terrorism bills is likely to miss the targets set by the House of Representatives (DPR).

The House's Steering Committee decided on Wednesday to delay a meeting to schedule the deliberation of the bills until Nov. 21 from the originally scheduled date of Nov. 14.

Legislators vowed on Tuesday to complete deliberating the terrorism bills before they went into recess on Nov. 29, but given the limited time, they are likely to miss the target they set themselves.

The government submitted two bills on Thursday -- one on terrorism and the other on the retrospective application of the terrorism law to the Bali bombings -- for deliberation by the House.

House Secretary-General Siti Nurhajati Daud confirmed on Wednesday that the Steering Committee would convene on Nov. 21 to arrange the scheduling of the bills' deliberation.

"Perhaps each of the factions need time to study the bills," Siti added. - JP