Lawmakers urge follow-up on SBY deals
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
While citing the generally positive outcome of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's recent overseas visit, House of Representatives members warned on Saturday that the government had to ensure concrete follow-up to any agreements sealed during the 12-day trip.
They expressed disappointment that the mission to get the United States to lift its arms embargo on Indonesia had been fruitless, and criticized the inclusion of family members of Susilo on the visit as unnecessary.
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) legislator Amris Hasan said the results of the visit were all quite beneficial, including a couple of economic memorandums of understanding sealed with Japan.
"It has to be noted, though, that state visits in the past by former presidents often only led to talks without any follow-up. It is very important that the deals with Japan be followed up on," said Amris, who sits on the House's Commission I on foreign affairs.
Expressing a similar view, the chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction, Untung Wahono, said it would be the way in which such memorandums were implemented that would ultimately demonstrate the success or failure of the state visits.
"MOUs may look good on paper, but it is the follow-up in the real world that shows whether or not the nation, especially the public, will gain any advantages from them," he said.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrived back home on Friday night from Tokyo after a 12-day state visit to the United States, Vietnam and Japan. He brought along a number of Cabinet ministers, legislators, and his wife and two sons.
In the middle of his overseas trip, two bombs exploded on May 28 in the mainly Christian town of Tentena, some 60 kilometers north of Poso -- an area once wracked by sectarian fighting in Central Sulawesi. The bombs killed 21 people and injured 70 others.
The latest terror attack was considered by many, including legislators, as a serious blow that made it tougher for the President to convince foreign investors to put their money into the cash-strapped country.
The lawmakers also questioned the inclusion of Susilo's two sons on the long visit and criticized the President for failing to save taxpayers' money by shortening the trip.
Amris said the visit could have been shortened as many of the items on the agenda, especially in the U.S. and Vietnam, were neither important nor urgent.
"Susilo flew to Seattle to meet (Microsoft boss) Bill Gates, and this took up more time. He could have had Gates fly to Washington. The Vietnam visit was also just a friendly one to bolster diplomatic ties ... it shouldn't have taken so many days," he argued.
Amris' view was shared by National Mandate Party (PAN) faction chairman Abdillah Toha, who said the Japanese visit was perhaps the only one to have produced significant results.
"The target of restoring full military cooperation with the U.S wasn't achieved. The U.S. executive was supportive, but we still haven't been able to convince their Congress. The Vietnam visit was quite vital as Indonesia can capitalize on their steady growth," said Abdillah.
The legislators also noted that it was quite inappropriate for Susilo's wife and two sons to have tagged along.
"We on Commission I have always criticized this sort of thing -- ever since the days of Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri. It shows that the practice hasn't changed at all," said Amris.