PDI politicians stay out of hearing with Harmoko
PDI politicians stay out of hearing with Harmoko
JAKARTA (JP): Five legislators of the Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI) conspicuously stayed out of a hearing between
Minister of Information Harmoko and Commission I of the House of
Representatives yesterday.
The meeting with members of the House's Commission I for
information was attended by representatives of the ruling Golkar
grouping, the United Development Party and the Armed Forces.
The five PDI representatives who sit on the commission --
B.N. Marbun, Taufik Kiemas, Marcel Beding, Sabam Sirait and
Sophan Sophiaan, were all in the House building. They did not
notify either the commission leaders or Harmoko about their
absence.
Marbun, one of the Commission I deputies, signed his name on
the attendance list on the convention room's front desk and then
disappeared.
Sophan, a film-star-turned legislator, said he stayed out of
the meeting because he knew the minister would only "sing the
same old tune".
"I am afraid it would only waste my time," he told
journalists. He said he had a "more important commitment" to
attend yesterday.
Marbun had a similar reason. "There has never been anything
dynamic (in hearings with Harmoko). We've had enough of hearing
the same old stuff over and over again" he told The Jakarta Post.
"Sophan was particularly disappointed when Harmoko in the past
failed to give him clear explanation on how the government had
used funds from the local film industry."
Chief of the PDI faction Fatimah Achmad said she did not
orchestrate the politicians' conspicuous absences. She said she
would find out why they failed to attend the meeting.
Commission I chief Aisyah Amini said she had brought the
incident to the attention of Soerjadi, the deputy House speaker
from the PDI.
Although only two of the United Development Party's
representatives attended the meeting, she said her party had not
the slightest intention of offending Harmoko.
Legislator Theo Syafei from the Armed Forces faction who
chaired yesterday's hearing took the incident lightly. "Maybe
they could not find their way in," he said about the PDI
legislators.
It was not the first incident involving PDI politicians.
Last year, legislator Laksmiari Prijonggo walked out of a
meeting after deputy Director General of Atomic Energy Agency
Azar Djaloeis scolded her for questioning the government's
readiness to cope with nuclear accidents.
Azar advised that Laksmiari should have been armed with sound
knowledge on technical aspects of nuclear technology before
asking questions.
Minister Harmoko refuted allegations yesterday that the
government enforces restrictions more tightly on the print media
than on the electronic.
Harmoko said what critics see as the harness of the print
media is in fact the government's effort to uphold the press law.
(pan)