MPR to hold president accountable each year

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After having second thoughts, legislators of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) voted yesterday for the president to give an accountability speech every year.

They argued that holding the president accountable on an annual basis was a better form of supervision of the government, even though some critics have said it is a waste of money.

Amin Said Husni, chairman of Assembly Commission D in charge of debating the issue, said that at least until next year, the annual session would still take place.

The decision will be taken to the Assembly's plenary session on Thursday for approval.

"We don't know if the ruling will still apply in 2003," Amin told reporters.

Some critics have urged the Assembly to scrap its annual meeting as it has lost its urgency, given that the House of Representatives functions well in supervising the government.

They propose that the funds allocated for the session could be used to help needy people. The current session is costing Rp 18 billion in taxpayers' money.

Among those who disagree with an annual session is Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung. He said on Monday that the session was inefficient and spent a lot of money and energy that Indonesia needed to recover from the economic crisis.