Nine West Java legislators sworn in

Nine West Java legislators sworn in

Yuli Tri Suwarni
The Jakarta Post
Bandung

West Java provincial legislative council chairman Eka Santosa has
sworn in nine new council members to replace those who retired
and others who had been transferred to the Banten legislature
following the formation of Banten province last January.

The inauguration was conducted in the provincial legislature's
plenary session here on Monday.

Seven legislators replaced those who were transferred to
Banten while the remaining two succeeded two military
representatives who have reached their mandatory pension age of
55.

The new legislators are: Tatang Asranul Hakim, Yusuf Ridwan,
Mochamad Sufki Ma'mun and Syafrudin, all from the United
Development Party (PPP); Tatang Hendir, Muhammad and Qudrat, from
the Golkar Party; Rachmat Kurni of the National Mandate Party
(PAN) and Army Col. Sutisna Kamadipura and Lt. Col. Hermansyah.

So far, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB) have yet to name
their candidates to fill the nine remaining seats due to
administrative problems and internal conflicts.

Eka called on the two parties to submit their candidates'
names immediately to allow the legislature to complete its agenda
this year.

"The deliberation of many draft laws could not be completed
because of the 18 vacant seats over the last three months," he
said.

The local chapter of PDI Perjuangan has been divided by a
serious internal row over who should be nominated to replace its
legislators.

Eka called on the existing 91 members to get ready to
deliberate the province's 2002 draft budget that would be
submitted by the governor to the legislative council in the near
future.

Daud Gunawan, a member of the legislature's Commission B on
economic affairs, said his commission had canceled a number of
decisions because of the eight vacant seats.

"The commission's agenda has been disturbed following the
transfer of eight commission members to Banten province and we
are running short of colleagues to discuss numerous problems,"
Daud Gunawan said on Saturday.

Rudi Harsa Tanaya, chairman of the PDI Perjuangan faction,
said his faction had lost eight seats and it had affected the
faction's performance.

"Of the remaining 22 members, not all of them are active as
some have been assigned to several special committees," he said.

Rudi admitted the local chapter of the PDI Perjuangan was a
bit late in proposing names to fill the vacant seats following
the recent death of a PDI Perjuangan legislator.