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.