MPR to hold president accountable each year

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.