Less is more for PDI legislators, say analysts
<p>Less is more for PDI legislators, say analysts</p><p> JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) may have
more leverage in the House of Representatives after Oct. 1
because its 11 members may be too few to ensure smooth decision
making, analysts said yesterday.</p><p>Riswandha Imawan and Indria Samego said the PDI's inadequate
representation meant that it could disrupt the House's decision-
making process because nothing could be decided without its
approval.</p><p>"The PDI will be small in size, but have huge influence in the
House. The price of one PDI legislator will equal a horde of
legislators from other factions because many decision-making
processes will depend on the presence of a PDI representative,"
Riswandha said.</p><p>Final election results released Monday show that the PDI will
hold 11 House seats, allowing the party to post a legislator in
each of the House's 11 commissions.</p><p>This means the PDI may lose its post on the House's leadership
board for the first time. A party must have at least 20
legislators for position on the leadership board.</p><p>"A PDI legislator is not a super person. He or she may be
absent from a House session for health reasons, and the session
will be considered invalid," said Riswandha from Yogyakarta's
Gadjah Mada University.</p><p>The House's internal rules say that a quorum of
representatives from all three parties and the Armed Forces is
needed for any session in the House and that no decisions can be
made without it.</p><p>Golkar will remain the strongest party with 325 House seats,
the United Development Party will hold 89 seats and the Armed
Forces, whose members do not vote, will have 75 seats.</p><p>PDI secretary-general Buttu Hutapea said Monday that the party
would not take its minimum representation seriously. He said the
PDI legislators would be ready to team up with other parties and
the Armed Forces.</p><p>Political researcher Idria Samego of the state-run National
Institute of Science also said that the scarcity of PDI
legislators would increase their power.</p><p>Indria said the unexpected poll results could lead to a PDI
which could hold the House to ransom.</p><p>"But such fears will not come true if the House modifies its
internal rules to guarantee that a democratic mechanism within
the House proceeds without technical barriers," Indria said.</p><p>He said the changes should allow PDI legislators to sit on two
commissions and let the party have a position on the House
leadership board.</p><p>Indria said Golkar should initiate the changes not only
because it was the most influential party but because it
represented more Indonesians.</p><p>Golkar's leader in the House, Moestahid Astari, said earlier
that the party's legislators were drafting a proposal to change
the House rules. He said the party was considering reducing the
number of commissions.</p><p>Indria said cutting the number of commissions was a bad idea
because the 11 commissions properly represented national issues.</p><p>He said a merger of commissions would adversely affect the
quality of deliberations.</p><p>Riswandha said that, with rule changes apparently unavoidable,
the Armed Forces was expected to improve its sociopolitical role
in the House.</p><p>"The Armed Forces should stay neutral amid Golkar-PPP rivalry
and be prepared to lend support to the PDI, so that there will
not be a dictator of the majority and tyranny of the minority,"
he said. (amd)</p>
more leverage in the House of Representatives after Oct. 1
because its 11 members may be too few to ensure smooth decision
making, analysts said yesterday.</p><p>Riswandha Imawan and Indria Samego said the PDI's inadequate
representation meant that it could disrupt the House's decision-
making process because nothing could be decided without its
approval.</p><p>"The PDI will be small in size, but have huge influence in the
House. The price of one PDI legislator will equal a horde of
legislators from other factions because many decision-making
processes will depend on the presence of a PDI representative,"
Riswandha said.</p><p>Final election results released Monday show that the PDI will
hold 11 House seats, allowing the party to post a legislator in
each of the House's 11 commissions.</p><p>This means the PDI may lose its post on the House's leadership
board for the first time. A party must have at least 20
legislators for position on the leadership board.</p><p>"A PDI legislator is not a super person. He or she may be
absent from a House session for health reasons, and the session
will be considered invalid," said Riswandha from Yogyakarta's
Gadjah Mada University.</p><p>The House's internal rules say that a quorum of
representatives from all three parties and the Armed Forces is
needed for any session in the House and that no decisions can be
made without it.</p><p>Golkar will remain the strongest party with 325 House seats,
the United Development Party will hold 89 seats and the Armed
Forces, whose members do not vote, will have 75 seats.</p><p>PDI secretary-general Buttu Hutapea said Monday that the party
would not take its minimum representation seriously. He said the
PDI legislators would be ready to team up with other parties and
the Armed Forces.</p><p>Political researcher Idria Samego of the state-run National
Institute of Science also said that the scarcity of PDI
legislators would increase their power.</p><p>Indria said the unexpected poll results could lead to a PDI
which could hold the House to ransom.</p><p>"But such fears will not come true if the House modifies its
internal rules to guarantee that a democratic mechanism within
the House proceeds without technical barriers," Indria said.</p><p>He said the changes should allow PDI legislators to sit on two
commissions and let the party have a position on the House
leadership board.</p><p>Indria said Golkar should initiate the changes not only
because it was the most influential party but because it
represented more Indonesians.</p><p>Golkar's leader in the House, Moestahid Astari, said earlier
that the party's legislators were drafting a proposal to change
the House rules. He said the party was considering reducing the
number of commissions.</p><p>Indria said cutting the number of commissions was a bad idea
because the 11 commissions properly represented national issues.</p><p>He said a merger of commissions would adversely affect the
quality of deliberations.</p><p>Riswandha said that, with rule changes apparently unavoidable,
the Armed Forces was expected to improve its sociopolitical role
in the House.</p><p>"The Armed Forces should stay neutral amid Golkar-PPP rivalry
and be prepared to lend support to the PDI, so that there will
not be a dictator of the majority and tyranny of the minority,"
he said. (amd)</p>