House's legislative body to submit 4 draft laws

House's legislative body to submit 4 draft laws

JAKARTA (JP): The Legislative Body of the House of
Representatives (DPR) will submit four draft laws on the
presidency, the regulation-making process, child protection and
the banking credit system to the House speakers next week, a
legislator said on Wednesday.

Chairman of the legislative body Zain Badjeber told
journalists that the four drafts have gone through a series of
discussions and are ready for deliberation, while citing the
House's rights to initiate draft laws.

"Members of the body have signed the proposals and the four
drafts are included in the prioritized draft laws for the House
to pass in 2001," Badjeber said, while citing that 28 legislators
from all 10 factions had signed the proposals.

"We may submit the draft laws next Monday, because we have
finished studying the drafts today (Wednesday)," he added.

In response to strong public criticism that its legislative
duties have been bogged down due to various political crusades
against the executive, the House is due to pass 22 bills in the
next three months to fulfill its legislative duties.

The four draft laws, however, are not included among the bills
to be completed within this three-month period, but are among the
prioritized bills for the 2001 period.

Badjeber said the draft law on the presidency will regulate
several matters, including the separation between the President
as head of state and as head of government as stipulated in the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) decree No. 8/2000.

"The bill is not against the 1945 Constitution because the
separation of the President's roles is covered in the explanatory
section of the Constitution," he said.

The draft law will also cover the substitution of the
President if he or she cannot perform presidential duties during
his or her tenure.

"But we will not be concerned with the mechanism for replacing
the national leadership as that will be the authority of the
Assembly," he said.

Another draft law to be submitted is on the regulation-making
process itself, and will be concerned with the official form of
bills and the substance of each regulation proposed by both the
government and the House.

"For example, a presidential decree will only be issued for
state administrative matters," Badjeber said, adding that the
draft law will cover all kinds of regulation from law to city
bylaw.

The new draft law also requires that the House should sign all
passed bills, so if the President declines to pass a bill within
30 days after it has been passed by the House, the bill can be
enacted.

On the child protection draft law, Badjeber said it will
include children's rights to education, parents' care and
punishment for child abuse, harassment and neglect.

"After being submitted, all factions should provide their
general observations on each draft before we can continue with
further discussion. It will take some months," he added. (dja)