Lawmakers eye at least 10 bills this sitting

Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Thirty-six bills, including the crucial political bills and others submitted more than two years ago, are still stalled in the nation's legislature, better known for its outspokenness than its productivity.

The House of Representatives started a new session on August 16, having passed only two bills during its last session.

Legislator Firman Jaya Daeli of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), and a member of the House's Legislation Committee, promised a better performance this time around.

"We're expecting to deliberate more than 10 bills in this session," Firman said on Tuesday.

The 39 stalled bills include seven that were submitted by the government to, or initiated by the legislature in 2000, 10 in 2001 and 19 more in 2002.

Newer bills are also in the pipeline as a result of the recent amendments to the 1945 Constitution.

Among the outstanding bills, Firman said, the priority was to conclude the debates on the general election and political party bills.

With the 2004 general election looming, time is running short for the nation to adequately prepare for the quinquennial event -- which this time around will be the first time ever that Indonesians will be permitted to directly elect their president.

"We're also rushing to pass the bills on the constitutional court and the judicial commission," Firman added.

In line with the revised Constitution, the new Court is tasked with, among other things, settling disputes on the interpretation of the Constitution.

A law on the judicial commission is in the making to form an independent body that will appoint judges. At present, this power is vested in the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

Other bills on the top of the list include the three economic bills on the state finances, state financial accountability and the state treasury, Firman said.

They have been awaiting deliberation since the government submitted them in October 2000. Two bills on labor development and protection, and the settlement of industrial disputes were handed over to the legislature in May and June respectively.

Critics have slammed legislators for their slow work, which the critics blame on too much politicking. The House not only passes laws but also oversees how the government runs the country.

Lately, however. analysts have noted that legislators were attempting to expand their influence into areas that should be the preserve of the executive.

Political analyst Bachtiar Effendi said this development might come at the expense of the House's other function of endorsing laws.

Legislators have previously said that hearings with state institutions over their policies, performances or in response to reports from the public were taking up most of their time.

Throughout 2001, they devoted much of their energy to ousting President Abdurrahman Wahid, which they finally succeeded in doing in July of that year.

Abdurrahman had got himself into hot water with the legislators early on during his 22-month administration due in part to his frequently insensitive statements.

"I think that this has somewhat improved under Megawati," said Bachtiar referring to President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

But time-consuming politicking, he said, was not the only problem affecting legislators' productivity.

According to Bachtiar, many of the legislators lacked the backgrounds necessary for dealing with complicated bills.

"They (lawmakers) don't have the qualifications, and it takes a lot of time to gather information as they also don't have expert advisors at their disposal," Bachtiar said.

Since the 1999 election, he added, the legislature had been accommodating additional factions. "Now it takes more time to reach a compromise," he explained.