President to skip DPD invitation

JAKARTA: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will deliver a speech on the 2006 draft state budget during a plenary session at the House of Representatives on Aug. 16, State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Tuesday.

The decision put an end to an ongoing debate on whether the President should accept an invitation to speak in a separate session of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), a legislative body established last year.

Having rejected an invitation from the House for a joint session, the DPD invited the President to also deliver the speech before its members, saying that the deliberation of the state budget require its input. -- JP