Penalty awaits lazy legislators

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Instead of discussing House of Representatives' Speaker Akbar Tandjung being named a suspect in the Bulog scandal, House members on Tuesday simply discussed the possibility of penalizing lazy and careless legislators.

The status of Akbar as a suspect was announced by Attorney General MA Rachman in a year-end report by his office on Monday.

However, the two-hour consultative faction meeting at the House on Tuesday did not mention Akbar's status simply because the issue was not on the agenda.

The meeting focused only on penalizing lazy legislators, who frequently avoid parliamentary meetings for other activities.

Ironically, Tuesday's meeting was attended by only 258 of the 486 legislators. Many legislators were absent without clear reasons.

After leaders of the House reach an agreement to set up an ad- hoc disciplinary committee, punishments will be set.

When Akbar was asked if the disciplinary committee would also assess his suspect status, he said that the issue was not discussed at the meeting.

"The penalty will be determined by a committee to be set up soon. Details on the penalty will be discussed later," House Speaker Akbar Tandjung told a press conference after the meeting.

Akbar, who was accompanied by House deputy speaker Tosari Widjaja, confirmed that all faction leaders had agreed to uphold the revised internal regulations in a bid to boost legislative performance.

Based on the internal regulations the House revised last October, any violation by the legislators carries a maximum penalty of dismissal.

Those dubbed the "lazy legislators" include Taufik Kiemas, husband of President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who was criticized early last month for leading a ministerial delegation to China.

Akbar said details on the establishment of the disciplinary committee would be discussed at a meeting of the House steering committee on Thursday.

Asked if the disciplinary committee would also assess his suspect status, Akbar simply said that it was not mentioned at the meeting.

The consultative meeting, however, discussed dozens of unsolved bills. According to Akbar, the meeting had agreed to outline priorities to be taken by the legislators to cope with the deliberation of those bills.

Touching on the government's newly-launched drive for efficiency, Akbar said that all factions had agreed to support the policy.

However, at their first meeting on Monday most if not all legislators wore suits instead of shirts as required by the drive to show modesty. A Jaguar sedan was also seen in the parking lot.