Legislators call on govt to reverse utility rate policy

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta, Jakarta

A number of legislators declared on Monday a caucus aimed at pressuring the government to reverse its decision to raise telephone and electricity tariffs and increase fuel prices, and other controversial policies.

They pledged to initiate moves to exercise hak angket (investigation rights) over the price rises.

"We feel the credibility of the political elite now is very low as they don't care about the people's interests," said legislator Meliono Suwondo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), headed by President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Aside from Meliono, legislators declaring the establishment of the caucus included Julius Usman of PDI Perjuangan, A.M. Fatwa and Alvin Lie of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Marwah Daud Ibrahim of the Golkar Party, Ali Masykur Musa of the National Awakening Party (PKB) and Lukman Hakim Saifuddin of the United Development Party (PPP).

Last Sunday, the legislators gathered at the residence of Kwik Kian Gie, the State Minister of National Development Planning/Bappenas chairman, a strong critic of the present Cabinet.

They called on the government to reverse the price rise policy and the exoneration of bankers who allegedly misused hundreds of trillions of rupiah.

The legislators said they would also press the government to review its privatization policy and adopt a combined proportional and open-list system in the 2004 general elections.

Meliono said current leaders and the political elite were no longer fighting for the interests of their constituents but their own.

"The hike of utility prices, the release and discharge policy, the non-transparent process of privatization, and the persistence to keep convicted House Speaker (Akbar Tandjung) are all hurting the people," Meliono said in a press conference.

Akbar, who is also chairman of Golkar, a political bandwagon used by former dictator Soeharto to preserve his power for more than three decades, was sentenced to three years in jail for misappropriating state funds worth Rp 40 billion (US$4.5 million). He is free pending appeal.

The government raised fuel and electricity prices and telephone rates last Wednesday to finance the 2003 state budget. Trade unions, business people, students and non-governmental organizations, however, rejected the move, saying the decision was too much of a burden on the people.

Meliono said the caucus was not aimed at toppling Megawati, but encouraging state institutions to pay more attention to people's needs.

"I believe people in the country will support us," he said, adding other legislators were welcomed to join the group.

Meanwhile, legislator Alvin said the group doubted the government's commitment to establishing clean governance as corruption was still rampant, and many policies like release and discharge, and utility price hikes were not transparent.

"How can the government release businessmen who have debts of hundreds of trillion of rupiah to the government, from crime charges, but at the same time increase the prices of utilities?" he asked.

A release and discharge order is issued to free debtors of criminal charges.

Alwin also said the government did not carry out a proper privatization process, citing the Indosat sale, which according to him was too cheap.

Ali Masykur concurred with Alvin, saying it would initiative moves to summon and investigate the government over its controversial policies.

The House's investigation rights over one issue only requires 10 legislators as initiators, but the House's plenary session will decide whether or not to accept the proposal.

Some legislators earlier sought to exercise their angket right to investigate Megawati's donation to the military early in 2002 but failed as they could not mobilize sufficient support from fellow legislators.

The caucus reminisced a similar move initiated by Kwik in November 2000. It strongly criticized then president Abdurrahman Wahid's poor performance, and called on the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to hold a special session to unseat him.

At the Special Session on July 2001, most of the MPR legislators voted to oust Wahid and instituted Megawati, then the vice president, as president.