MPR members told to leave hotel

MPR members told to leave hotel

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Some 300 members of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) were
told to check out of the Mulia Hotel on Tuesday after its leaders
realized, belatedly, that there was no need after all for them to
stay in the five-star hotel.

Assembly leaders had agreed to convene from Oct. 18 to 20 to
prepare for the inauguration of president-elect Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono and vice president-elect Jusuf Kalla on Oct. 20.

The Assembly secretariat then booked rooms at the Mulia Hotel
for four days beginning Oct. 18 and some 300 Assembly members had
already checked in on Monday morning. The Assembly has 675
members.

"About 300 legislators, including 113 members of the Regional
Representatives Council (DPD), stayed at the hotel until Tuesday
morning. They have to check out today," Assembly secretary-
general Rahimullah told the press on Tuesday.

Assembly leaders had planned a two-day plenary session
preceded by a meeting between Assembly speakers and faction
leaders on Oct. 18.

The first day of the plenary session on Oct. 19 was planned to
discuss the establishment of an ad-hoc committee that would draft
an Assembly decree on the inauguration of Susilo as president and
Kalla as vice president. The second day, Oct. 20, was to witness
Susilo and Kalla taking their oath of office.

During a consultative meeting with faction leaders on Monday
evening, Assembly leaders agreed to scrap the ad-hoc committee
and that the inauguration of Susilo and Kalla would be done in
accordance with its internal regulations.

"The consultative meeting agreed not to set up an ad-hoc
committee. Since there is no talk on the formation of an ad-hoc
committee, the Assembly members need not to stay at the hotel,"
Assembly Speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid said.

Why Assembly leaders and faction chairmen realized that there
was no need for them to issue an Assembly decree on Susilo and
Kalla's inauguration only on Monday evening, when many Assembly
members had already checked into the hotel, remained a question.

In the past, presidents were elected by Assembly members and
thus a decree on the inauguration of the president and vice
president was necessary.

Starting this year, however, the president and vice president
are directly elected by the people, and thus an Assembly decree
was no longer needed.

According to Rahimullah, many Assembly members had left the
hotel on Monday evening after learning of the agreement between
Assembly speakers and faction leaders.

Rahimullah declined to estimate the amount spent on hotel
rooms per night, saying that the figure would be available after
the Assembly session was over.

But Assembly deputy secretary- general Eddie Siregar said on
Monday that his office paid Rp 400,000 per room/night at the
hotel. This means the 300 Assembly members cost the state around
Rp 1.2 billion on Monday evening.

Separately, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)
faction deputy chairman Panda Nababan acknowledged on Tuesday
that he was one of those legislators who received a letter from
the Assembly secretariat informing him that all Assembly members
were required to check into the Mulia Hotel at 12 noon on Monday.

"The Assembly leaders must consult faction leaders first
before making an agenda," Panda said, adding that legislators who
had checked in were later told to check out.

Hidayat, meanwhile, said that the decision was not his
personal directive, but a result of the meeting between Assembly
and faction leaders.