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".