New faces may inject new spirit into House
New faces may inject new spirit into House
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After what is widely regarded as a distinctly poor performance on
the part of the members of the House of Representatives for the
1999-2004 term, the public could be forgiven for hoping for a
brighter future ahead in the shape of the new batch of House
members sworn in on Friday, especially as over 70 percent of them
are new faces.
On their first day in the House, some of the new members were
outlining their programs and intentions, which ranged from
strengthening the House and eradicating corruption, to following
in the footsteps of a movie star idol.
Legislators Muhammad Najib and Benny K. Harman, of the
National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Indonesian Justice and Unity
Party (PKPI) respectively, said that they would immerse
themselves in the fight against corruption.
Meanwhile, Democratic Party legislator Angelina Sondakh said
she wanted to do something to improve the poor state of the
environment and boost tourism.
"I think the biggest challenge the country faces now is
corruption, collusion and nepotism. If these problems can be
resolved, it will have a beneficial effect on other sectors. My
concern is how to campaign for corruption eradication," she told
The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the first session of the new
House, which was devoted to the swearing in of the new members.
She said it would be almost impossible for the legislators to
tackle other problems if the problem of rampant corruption was
not resolved. Angelina also said that she hoped to play a role in
improving the three functions of the House -- legislating,
budgeting and conducting oversight.
The former pageant queen, however, will have to be patient if
she wants to tackle environmental problems as her party is likely
to assign her to the House's tourism commission.
"We must make Indonesia a tourist destination -- both for
domestic and foreign ones," she added.
Having said that, Angelina added that the effort to maintain
security in the country must also become priority.
Meanwhile, former journalist Benny pledged the new legislators
would do everything that was required of them as legislator.
"There is no doubt that we will perform our duties to the best of
our abilities, despite the obstacles we may face," he said
without elaborating.
He said that one of the first things the House members would
have to do was to discuss the House's standing orders.
Benny also said he would maintain constant communication with
the public so as to produce changes in the national legislature.
Hidayat Nur Wahid of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said
he would use his seat in the House to oversee the work of the
government.
"However, each House member must perform this role in a proper
and dignified manner," he said. The current image of the House is
that of a more powerful, even raucous, body compared to the
rubber-stamp legislature that perpetuated the authoritarian rule
of the New Order regime.
The PKS chairman also said that he would strive to improve the
image of House members as people who defended the interests of
their constituents, instead of just their own groups and
associates.
Fellow legislator Dede M. Yusuf of the National Mandate Party
(PAN), who is known for his roles in action films, said that his
decision to take the plunge into politics was inspired by Arnold
Schwarzenegger, who is now the governor of the U.S. state of
California.
"He was elected governor, not because he is popular but
because he was committed to building California," he was quoted
by Antara as saying.
Schwarzenegger, also an action movie star, won a state recall
election earlier this year against governor Gray Davis.