Legislators skip sessions, important bills untouched
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representatives (DPR) once again showed its lack of professionalism to the public on Thursday when its steering committee (Bamus) failed to form teams to deliberate the much- debated bills on antiterrorism due to low attendance.
The meeting of the steering committee was delayed until next Tuesday because it failed to make a quorum. Of the committee's 76 members, only 27 showed up.
The meeting was also supposed to discuss a petition signed by more than 150 legislators to unseat House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, who was convicted by the Central Jakarta District Court of corrupting Rp 40 billion (US$4.6 million) in state funds.
Deputy House Speaker A.M. Fatwa who was supposed to head the meeting confirmed that the delay was due to poor attendance.
To reach a quorum, at least half of the 76 members must attend the meeting.
"Well, we cannot reach the mandatory quorum. We can't do anything," Fatwa simply said.
With the failure of the House of Representatives (DPR) to set up teams to deliberate the bills on antiterrorism, it is unlikely that the bills will be ready by the end of this year.
Previously, all factions at the House pledged to finish the deliberation on the antiterrorism bills in this session which will end on Nov. 29. With only one week left, it will be impossible for legislators to meet the targeted deadline.
Likewise, the legislators will not be able to finish the deliberation of the much-awaited general elections bill during this session.
The bill is still being deliberated.
When asked if this situation indicated that the House had no commitment to meet its legislative duties, Fatwa simply replied: "Well, you can see for yourself."
Fatwa denied speculations that the poor attendance in the meeting of the steering committee was designed to stop a move by legislators to unseat Akbar.
In addition to the bills and the petition against Akbar, the steering committee was supposed to discuss other issues, including a bill on the formation of a new province of West Sulawesi and a bill on the protection of Indonesian workers abroad.
Poor attendance was also shown in two separate sessions on Thursday: one to deliberate the controversial broadcasting bill and the second to endorse the bill on building construction.
Of the 50 members of a special committee deliberating the broadcasting bill, only about 12 legislators were present.
Poor attendance was also shown by legislators earlier in the day at a plenary meeting on the endorsement of the bill on building construction.
The plenary meeting was delayed for one hour apparently to wait for the arrival of legislators. Only 150 legislators of the total 500 House members were registered on the attendance list when the plenary meeting was opened.
Based on Article 189 of the House Standing Orders, a meeting in the House can make a decision only if the meeting is attended by more than half of the meeting's members representing more than half of the factions.
Fatwa, who also presided over the plenary meeting, was not bothered by the poor attendance and quickly banged the gavel to authorize the endorsement of the bill.
The bill on building construction was submitted to the House on March 12 last year. Legislators took almost two years to finish the bill.
The bill on building construction consists of 10 chapters and 49 articles.
In his acceptance speech, Minister for Settlement and Infrastructure Soenarno revealed that the bill required four government regulations to make it effective.
He pledged that the government would finish the four regulations within one year.