Public urged to observe House's last session
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta
Observers have called on the public to pressure current House of Representatives (DPR) members to up their attendance in the last sitting period between Aug. 16 through end of September given the fact that many of them will bid farewell to the House.
The April 5 general election results reveal that around half of the House's 550 seats will be occupied by newcomers. They will be sworn in on Oct. 1.
Sebastian Salang, the secretary-general of legislature watchdog Formappi, said close monitoring by the public and non- governmental organizations (NGOs) would ensure that legislators worked well until their tenure expired.
"We have to seriously watch the House's performance. I am afraid the outgoing legislators will compromise its quality," he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Indria Samego from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) also doubted current House members would focus on their jobs as the end of their tenure approached.
"Many of the legislators have no chance of being reelected. I don't think they will make any effort. They will ignore quality and simply work to meet the set target," he said.
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung closed on Friday the House's penultimate session.
The one-month recess will end on Aug. 16, when the lawmakers regroup to hear President Megawati Soekarnoputri deliver a speech.
Some House committees have planned to continue their deliberation of bills during the recess. The committees will discuss, among other issues, the bill on the Cabinet, the bill on the presidential advisory council and the bill on the revision of Law No.22/1999 on regional administration.
The House defense commission also plans to speed up the deliberation of the bill on the Indonesian Military (TNI) in the last session.
Members of the defense commission will invite experts to a series of hearings during the recess, to gather input for their deliberation in the next sitting period.
The legislators insist on completing the TNI bill before the current House tenure expires, to give legislators from the military an opportunity to participate in the deliberation.
The military and the police will no longer hold seats in the House, nor the People's Consultative Assembly.
"I am afraid the speedy deliberation and the limited time will result in a flawed TNI law," said defense commission member Djoko Susilo.
House leaders hail the plan of legislators to keep working despite the recess, saying it shows the commitment of House members.
However, Agun Gunandjar Sudarsa, deputy chairman of the committee deliberating the revision of the regional administration law, doubted legislators could finish the revision on time.
Most possibly, he said, the legislators would only endorse some articles on the adoption of the direct election of governors, regents, and mayors.
Sebastian feared that the rushed deliberation of bills would only produce laws containing many loopholes that could be exploited by the government. Beside the flaws in the law, he said some legislators could extort the government for the speedy endorsement of certain bills sponsored by the government.
Indria said outgoing legislators were unlikely to improve their performance.
"This sort of lawmaker will not perform in the last session because they are soon to leave the House." he said.
He predicted the House would face difficulties in endorsing bills due to poor attendance.