Officials differ on DPR's right to set rules

JAKARTA (JP): Experts disagreed over the authority of the outgoing House of Representatives (DPR) to formulate a new set of internal rules for the next parliament, whose members will be installed on Oct. 1.

"It's completely unacceptable," according to Riswandha Imawan, a politics professor at Gadjah Mada University. However, constitutional law expert Moh. Mahfud M.D. from the Islamic University (UII), said the House's action did not break any rules.

Mahfud even suggested that the House prepare rules for the upcoming General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), as well as rules on how to select representatives of interest groups and regional representatives in the MPR.

"If we really want the General Session of MPR to be held in November, we can't give the new DPR too many burdens to settle," he said.

Riswandha said the current DPR, which was formed after the 1997 elections under Soeharto's New Order and would disperse on Sept. 30, had "no right" to prepare rules for the 1999/2004 House.

He cited the vast differences between the current House, which is made up of only four factions, and the next one resulting from multi-party elections.

"It doesn't make any sense and is absolutely unacceptable," Riswandha said.

The legislators themselves defended their endeavor.

"We are only trying to help the next (House) members by finishing the internal rules," said Daryatmo Mardiyanto of the Golkar Party faction.

He said he hoped the new rules would be endorsed before Sept. 17, which is the day the current House is supposed to wrap up its sessions.

The special committee in charge of formulating the bill on internal rules has finished deliberating on the makeup of the House. They decided on Wednesday the next House would be divided into nine commissions, each with three subcommissions.

The legislators are to discuss next week how the next legislative body should be divided into factions, and the mechanism that governs the division.

"This is one of the most difficult things to decide," Lukman Hakim of the United Development Party (PPP) faction said.

The majority of political parties contesting the June 7 elections have not secured enough seats for their parties to be represented in all 27 subcommissions. The Justice and Unity Party (PKP), for instance, won only 6 seats, and the Crescent Star Party (PBB) 2 seats.

Legislators will have a recess period from Aug. 2 to Aug. 13. They will resume for the last session on August 16 and sit until Sept. 17, when the annual state of the nation address will be given by the President.(05/44/swa)