Legislators jeer, ridicule Akbar in House

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Convicted corrupter Akbar Tandjung has clearly lost the respect of fellow politicians as legislators frantically interrupted a plenary session he chaired on Tuesday, questioning his credibility to lead the meeting.

Shouting at the top of their voices, legislators interrupted the meeting, the first Akbar has chaired after being found guilty of corruption and sentenced to three years in prison on Sept. 4, the legislators demanded that a petition seeking his ouster be read out before the session proceeded.

"Assembly Decree No. VI/2000 stipulates that all government officials with questionable credibility be suspended," legislator Susono Yusuf of the National Awakening Party (PKB) said.

Akbar, who is also chairman of the Golkar Party, the second biggest faction in the House of Representatives (DPR), is currently House speaker.

Susono's remark received immediate support from fellow PKB legislators, who insisted that the petition be read out.

"It is in the House' internal ruling that all incoming petitions must be read out in the plenary session. When was the regulation changed?" Panda Nababan of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) asked.

Representatives of 72 legislators submitted a petition on Monday seeking Akbar's ouster as House speaker claiming he was not deserving of the post following his guilty verdict and three- year prison sentence.

Akbar fought back against the onslaught, trying very hard not to have the letter read. He also intentionally avoided mentioning the substance of the petition, simply referring to as "a document signed by 72 legislators."

"The House speakers had agreed to give the document to the House steering committee for further discussion, so please let us continue with the session," said Akbar, trying very hard to maintain his composure.

His statement prompted some legislators to shout loudly demanding that the session be discontinued.

They, however, calmed down after Akbar said that the document would be distributed to all legislators later on.

The House decided on Tuesday to discuss the petition in the steering committee on Thursday, along with a proposal to establish a disciplinary committee for legislators that had poor attendance during House sessions.

Dozens of legislators chose to leave the session after the decision was taken.

"I cannot believe that the House speaker chose to ignore such a big problem that could damage our credibility," said Dwi Ria Latifa of PDI Perjuangan, expressing her disappointment.

Akbar, apparently wanted to reassert his authority when he decided to chair Tuesday's plenary meeting himself, a function he normally delegated to his deputies.

But he seemed to have underestimated fellow legislators' resistance to his leadership after his conviction in a corruption case involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog). He has appealed the verdict.

Calls have also increased for Akbar to resign, or at least to voluntarily step aside pending the appeal. Akbar, however, has resisted the demands, arguing that the court verdict is not yet legally binding.

The last time Akbar presided over a plenary session was the opening session of the current sitting period on Aug. 19.

The decision to discuss the petition opposing Akbar's leadership in the House steering committee was a step forward for a move against him as the committee will set a date for the plenary session to discuss the issue.

In the plenary session, each faction will offer a general standpoint on the issue before the House decides whether to accept the proposal or not.

The House needs more than 250 legislators from different factions to attend the session to reach a decision, and it will require more than 125 legislators to approve the proposal to oust Akbar.

Meanwhile, Golkar continues to strike back, claiming that they have collected more than 80 signatures to counter the petition.

"We have gathered 80 signatures of legislators who object to the call for Akbar's suspension," Ferry Mursyidan Baldan of Golkar said.

Golkar would have little difficulty in gathering the signatures as they are the second largest faction at the House with 120 legislators.