Legislature's bickering hindering reform: Mega
Legislature's bickering hindering reform: Mega
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Megawati Soekarnoputri said on Friday that the
legislative body had been too preoccupied with bickering to
progress the nation's reform agenda.
The President's open criticism, the most scathing she has made
in public, is likely to renew tension between the executive and
legislative bodies.
"In the current reform era, legislators in the House are in a
state of euphoria and (since every legislator is busy with their
own agenda), it is difficult to focus on the country's agenda,"
she said.
The President made the remarks during the closing ceremony of
a National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) course at the State
Palace.
The President, who is also chairwoman of the House's largest
faction, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan), said that political rows had moved from the
executive to the legislative branch of government.
The two entities have enjoyed good relations since Megawati
ascended to the presidency in July 2001. Until then, since
Soeharto's downfall in 1998, political tension abbreviated the
tenures of two presidents, B.J. Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid.
Megawati, the daughter of Indonesia's first president Sukarno,
has said on various occasions that the newfound freedom is "too
excessive and has brought more problems than advantages".
Her comments arrive amid internal conflict in the House
regarding several high-profile issues, such as delays in
amendment of the 1945 Constitution at the recent People's
Consultative Assembly Annual Session and the establishment of a
special committee to investigate the embezzlement of Rp 54
billion (US$5.4 million) from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog),
in which House Speaker Akbar Tandjung has been accused of
involvement.
Megawati said that conflict was also apparent within regional
legislative councils across the country.
Ali Yahya, a Golkar Party legislator, said that bickering in
the legislative body was just a consequence of the reform
movement, which had allowed its members freedom of speech.
"Now Indonesia has a multi-party system and each politician
has the right to differ, even from their own political parties'
official policy line.
"In the case of the executive body, officials have only one
leader in command, the President. No wonder it is less
tumultuous," he said.
The President reminded that national leaders should learn from
past mistakes in order to secure a better future.
"The reform process is far from over. We need a new paradigm
that can create an effective and efficient government," she said.
The President added that it was everybody's responsibility to
think about how Indonesia could lift itself out of the current
crisis.