New laws needed to improve House performance: Arbi

JAKARTA (JP): A senior political observer yesterday cast doubt on the ability of experts to improve the House of Representatives' performance.

Arbi Sanit of the University of Indonesia said that the House's performance would only improve if it overhauled its notorious internal rules. These rules hamper its members from exercising their basic rights, he said.

Arbi was commenting on the planned recruitment of expert to provide consulting services to future lawmakers.

He proposed a law be made to guarantee that House members can exercise their rights without the bureaucratic hurdles they currently experience.

"Without this law legislators could do nothing with their numerous rights even when the expert staff find many things wrong (with the government)," Arbi said.

Members of the House have six basic rights: to make inquiries about the president's policies, conduct investigations, amend laws, give judgments on state affairs, recommend a candidate for a position in the state bureaucracy and initiate bills.

Cynics have called the House a rubber stamp institution for its perceived submissive attitudes to the will of the government.

There have been frequent calls for House members to receive help from consultants, in the hope that such a change might bring about an improvement in the legislators' performance.

The dominant political organization Golkar announced last week that it would recruit 35 experts to help its legislators perform better.

Golkar announced that in each of the House's 11 commissions, its legislators would be assisted by three experts, while the two remaining experts would be assigned as Head and Secretary of the Golkar's board of experts.

House member Hamzah Haz of the United Development Party (PPP) said yesterday that the presence of expert staff would have little effect on the House's performance.

"The key to performance is an individual legislator," he said. "It would mean nothing to have experts around if the House members do not have the guts to raise what they believe is true and useful for the people they represent."

Hamzah said the presence of expert staff would only help legislators sharpen their understanding of current issues.

Hamzah said the PPP had two expert staff, which it called the "PPP Assistance Team". He said his faction had repeatedly asked the House to provide the budget for recruiting and employing expert staff.

"We don't have a budget as large as Golkar's to pay expert staff," he said. (aan)