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.