Kwik returns to the House
JAKARTA (JP): The return of former senior economics minister Kwik Kian Gie to the House of Representatives was confirmed when the legislature announced the new lineup of each of its nine commissions on Tuesday.
However, protests by several legislators, including Priyo Budi Santoso of the Golkar Party, marked the plenary session which endorsed the changes made by the House following the recent Cabinet reshuffle. The protesters claimed they had not been informed beforehand about the rotation.
Kwik, who resigned as the coordinating minister for economics, finance and industry days before the People's Consultative Assembly's Annual Session early last month, was listed as a member of Commission IX for finance and development planning.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) legislator is expected to inject new blood into the commission which oversees the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and other financial institutions.
Before his appointment to the Cabinet in October last year, Kwik was one of the deputy House speakers. But PDI Perjuangan left his seat in the House vacant during his nine-month stint in the administration of President Abdurrahman Wahid.
In the 58-strong commission, Kwik will join 17 fellow PDI Perjuangan representatives, including Sukowalujo Mintorahardjo, former deputy to the state minister of investment and state enterprises empowerment Benny Pasaribu and noted financial markets analyst Theo Toemion.
Benny had made a comeback to the House along with his former boss and friend Laksamana Sukardi after the latter was dismissed from the Cabinet and replaced by Rozy Munir in April.
Laksamana, whose removal from the Cabinet sparked controversy, now joins Commission VIII for mines and mineral resources, which will work with the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources and the Office of the State Minister for the Environment.
Other commissions
Commission I deals with defense, security and foreign affairs. It will partner eight government institutions, including the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Indonesian Military (TNI).
Commission II will work with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Regional Autonomy, Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the Attorney General's Office and the National Police.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) will be the responsibility of Commission III for agriculture and forestry.
The Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications, Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure and the Office of the Junior Minister for the Acceleration of Development in Indonesia's Eastern Regions will be paired with Commission IV for transportation and regional infrastructure.
Commission V for industry, trade and cooperatives is linked to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Office of the State Minister for Cooperatives and Small Enterprises' Development.
Commission VI for religious affairs and national education will watch over the performance of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Ministry of National Education.
The Ministry of Health, the Office of the State Minister for the Empowerment of Women, and the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration will work with Commission VII for health and population affairs.
Golkar legislator Priyo protested to House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, who presided over Tuesday's session, for not being informed of the reshuffle in the House.
"I was never informed beforehand that I would be moved," Priyo, who was previously a member of Commission VIII for mines and energy, said.
The Golkar faction has assigned the outspoken legislator to Commission II.
Akbar, who also chairs Golkar, played down the discontent, saying it happened because certain legislators felt sorry to be leaving work which they enjoyed.
"It's not a question of somebody being angry because he has been removed from a post in which money is easily obtainable," Akbar said, referring to commissions whose partners are wealthy ministries. (jun)