Legislative monitor established

JAKARTA (JP): Parliament Watch Indonesia (Parwi), a private group which will monitor legislative bodies here, was founded on Monday by, among others, 60 legal and political experts.

Members include political lecturer Arbi Sanit, law lecturer Bagir Manan, former legislator Bambang Warih Koesoema and philosopher Frans Magnis Suseno.

Parwi's chairman is Kemal Roemawi and its secretary-general is Nabiel Makarim, who was previously in charge of the Environmental Impact Management Agency (Bapedal).

At a ceremony to mark the founding of the organization at the World Trade Center, Kemal expressed concern that the legislative body did not make laws, and that most of the laws it deliberated were formulated by the government.

He said Parwi's mission was to promote people's sovereignty through the empowerment of the House of Representatives (DPR). (rms)