Legislators quiet after Bambang's dismissal

Legislators quiet after Bambang's dismissal

By Santi W.E. Sukanto

JAKARTA (JP): Sssh. Listen. It's quieter over there among the
people's representatives, many of whom now choose to just 'hear'
during hearings with their counterparts.

It's probably because most of the members of the House of
Representatives (DPR) are beginning to feel the toll of weeks of
fasting during this Islamic holy month of Ramadhan.

Or it could be because they fear that any form of
outspokenness may earn them a fate similar to their recently
dismissed legislator, Bambang Warih Koesoemo of the Golkar group.

No one can tell for sure, but if anthropologists and
psychologists are correct in their assumption that jokes and
gestures are often indicative of a person's true feelings, then
the second explanation may be more on target.

Shortly after the leaders of the ruling political grouping at
DPR announced their plan to withdraw Bambang from the house for
allegedly offending cabinet ministers, legislators reacted in
various ways.

Some became outraged and lashed out, others engaged in banter
and muffled laughter. Still others became quiet.

The most interesting phenomenon, however, was the change of
Bambang Warih's name into a participle. Legislators now refer to
someone about to be dismissed as someone who will be "di-Bambang-
Warih-kan (or Bambang-Warihed).

In a recent hearing with Minister of Cooperatives and Small
Enterprises Subiakto Tjakrawerdaya, for instance, Saleh Khalid of
the DPR Commission VII began his question with an apology.

"Hopefully my questions will not offend you, Bapak Menteri
(Mr. Minister). I'm afraid of being Bambang-Warihed," said Saleh
of the United Development Party (PPP) faction, to the amusement
of both Subiakto and the other meeting participants.

And the political joke has not subsided. In fact, it has found
many other forms. Some Golkar legislators have been spotted by
journalists debating who's head will be demanded next by their
party's central executive board.

Tadjuddin Noer Said, Iskandar Mandji, Bambang Warih and
several other legislators pointed fingers at one another
recently.

"If Bambang is number one, you'll be second," said Mandji to
Tadjuddin. "You're next."

Bambang pointed at Mandji, who was on his way to the mosque
for Friday prayer: "You're next...no wonder you're behaving so
well lately!"

Speculation

Reporters reminded Tadjuddin of the widespread speculation
that Bambang may well be only one on a list of many outspoken
legislators that Golkar will dismiss. He laughed and then asked
in a rather worried tone, "Is that right? Am I really next?".

Experts have long pointed out that jokes and rumors are a
safety valve, through which people can let off steam - and fear.

There are other forms of reaction, certainly, and anger is one
of them.

Take Aberson Marle Sihaloho, for instance. The outspoken
legislator of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) group
expressed outrage over Bambang's dismissal.

In numerous interviews, he lashed out at various parties who
he felt were weakening DPR members in the face of the executive
branch of power and the central executive board of political
parties.

"We haven't functioned well...we have been straying away from
the mandate of the Constitution," he said.

There are also people who choose to be silent, if the decrease
in the number of vocal DPR members typically heard at hearings
can be taken as an indication.

At the meeting between the Commission VII and Subiakto, for
instance, only four out of the 34 attending legislators had
something to say. A member told the Tiras news weekly recently
that it was not usual for the commission meetings to be
proceeding so quietly.

"There are usually a lot of us waiting to have a chance to ask
questions to ministers," the legislator said.

A meeting between Commission IX, which oversees religious
affairs, and the Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher last
week, concluded almost two hours earlier than scheduled because
only seven legislators, out of 25, asked questions.

This time, feeling weak from fasting was not a plausible
excuse because the meeting was held in the evening, right after
the fast-breaking dinner.

Noted political scientist Dr. Maswadi Rauf of the University
of Indonesia blamed the situation on Golkar's decision to dismiss
Bambang, without providing a satisfactory explanation as to what
he was guilty of.

Moestahid Astari, chairman of the Golkar faction, said the
grouping decided to dismiss Bambang for his habit of defying
Golkar's official line and because of his misconduct when dealing
with cabinet ministers.

The controversy surrounding the case was usually marked with
dissatisfaction over the triviality of the accusations leveled
against Bambang.

As for the legislators who became "quiet", Maswadi said it
definitely had to do with Bambang's sacking. "This is what
happens if a political party makes a decision without providing a
clear explanation," he told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

"If the legislators become 'soggy'...the public can't help but
feel that it has to do with the dismissal," he said. "This is
what we have been afraid of. The political impact of the
dismissal will not only affect the legislators, but also the
whole system."

Reject

Three Golkar members interviewed separately by the Post,
however, flatly rejected the suggestion that Bambang's dismissal
subdued them. Ismael Hassan, who is also a Golkar leader, Dr.
Umar Syihab and Dr. Marwah Daud Ibrahim all said they have not
been affected by the dismissal.

"I know for sure the case has no influence over us," Ismael
said.

Umar Syihab said he did not see the correlation between
Bambang's dismissal and the supposed reduction in the number of
legislators "asking questions" during hearings.

Marwah, an American-educated expert in political
communication, cautiously said that the case might bring about
both positive and negative ramifications.

However, she refused to pinpoint one of the negative effects
as resulting in more subdued legislators.

"This case is open to various interpretations," she said.

Marwah is a member of the influential Indonesian Association
of Moslem Intellectuals. In a speech last year she said that a
pervasive feeling of helplessness still reigns over most
Indonesians, and that people have the tendency to remain silent
in the face of injustices or other difficulties.

She blamed the situation on the "the authorities' domination
during the first 25 years of the New Order government".