New laws needed to improve House performance: Arbi
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)