Political laws, presidency bill top priorities at House
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representatives (DPR) has put the revision of political laws and a bill on the presidency as top priorities for deliberation in the next House session scheduled to commence on May 13.
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said on Tuesday that drafts of revised political laws were expected to be submitted to the House by the home ministry in the next few days.
Political laws, which consist of laws on political parties, elections and the composition of the DPR and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), are urgently needed for preparations of the general election in 2004.
Legislators are also expected to complete deliberation on the 17 bills approved by the DPR during the last session.
"If I am not mistaken, the number of unfinished bills is 17," Akbar said on Tuesday.
The bills that legislators failed to deliberate upon last session included a resolution of industrial disputes, a commission on corruption eradication, electricity, legal pardons and property rights.
Akbar also said the House plenary meeting on May 13 would be opened by deputy House speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno.
"Because I have to attend the trial process," said Akbar, referring to his ongoing trial for allegedly misappropriating Rp 40 billion from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).
Chairman of the House's Legislative Body Zein Badjeber said on Monday that the bill on the presidency, once enacted, would supplement other regulations, such as the one on corruption eradication.
The draft of the presidency bill had been prepared before the reform era (pre-1998) but was just made public during the presidency of Abdurrahman Wahid in March of last year.
"We hope the bill can be brought up for deliberation in the next session," Zein said here on Monday.
The bill on the presidency was among the 76 bills scheduled for legislative deliberation before December 2002.
It should have been completed in March but was delayed following a request from President Megawati Soekarnoputri to delay the deliberation on grounds that the Cabinet was still assessing the draft.
The bill consisting of nine chapters and 49 articles would regulate everything related to the authority and the institution of the president.
The bill, he added, would also set a limit on the maximum value of gifts the president may accept.
According to Zein, the bill put the maximum amount to Rp 25 million. "There was problem in the era of president Abdurrahman Wahid because there was no regulation," he said.
Abdurrahman, popularly known as Gus Dur, had allegedly received US$2 million from the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah as a personal gift, and opposition legislators manipulated that to accuse him of "corruption".
Zein revealed that the bill would also call for certain criteria for the president to appoint Cabinet ministers, military commanders, and police chiefs.