Regional representatives demand their own faction
JAKARTA (JP): Regional representatives are stepping up their fight to be recognized as a separate faction and not to be merged with the factions of their respective political parties in the People's Consultative Assembly.
Alex Hesegem, a regional representative from Irian Jaya, or as he prefers West Papua, maintained a regional representative faction was necessary to channel the aspirations of the provinces, which often were neglected by political interests.
He said the administration and the Assembly would be unable to find a peaceful and comprehensive solution to problems in Aceh, Riau, Maluku, North Maluku and Irian Jaya because the aspirations of these provinces were not accommodated.
"Mass killings in Aceh, Maluku and North Maluku gain no serious attention in the Assembly's Annual Session as all the factions are busy fighting for their own political interests," Alex told The Jakarta Post in an interview here on Tuesday.
Alex, one of five representatives from Irian Jaya in the Assembly, said that so far no political party had presented a noteworthy contribution toward finding a comprehensive solution to the problems in the provinces.
"Papua has an accumulation of problems that do not need political solutions but concrete action. Our people are facing serious malnutrition, social injustice, backwardness and transportation problems," he said.
He argued that other factions had no grounds to reject the regional representatives' demand they form their own faction, because the presence of a regional representative faction in the Assembly was guaranteed by the 1945 Constitution.
"All the factions should look at Chapter Two of the Constitution, which states the Assembly comprises the House of Representatives, interest groups and regional representatives," he said.
He also said the establishment of a regional representative faction was urgent in conjunction with the implementation of regional autonomy next year.
"The regional representatives will play a significant role in accommodating regions' aspirations because the role of the regions will also be increasing," he said.
Alex expressed optimism regional representatives would have their own faction soon.
He said the regional representatives had intensified their lobbying of major factions, including the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and Golkar Party, which have expressed support for the proposal.
Under the present rules, major political parties in a province have the right to select representatives from the province for the Assembly in accordance to the proportion of votes it won in that province
The 27 provinces were allocated five Assembly seats each for a total of 135 seats. If the regional representative faction is eventually established it would become a key political block.
The faction was dissolved last year and the representatives merged with the factions of their respective political parties.
Alex refuted arguments that regional representatives should join the factions of the political parties that selected them. He said the fact that political parties chose them was a mere technicality since they already were community leaders in their own right.
"We are public and grassroots leaders. We represent the people and not political parties."
Josep Umarhadi of the PDI Perjuangan faction said his faction could understand the regional representatives' reasons for demanding their own faction.
"This is a consequence of our faction's draft decree on the implementation of regional autonomy, recommending the government implement regional autonomy soon in an endeavor to contain the numerous problems in the regions," he said.
Fahmi Idris, chairman of the Golkar faction, said his faction had no objection to the establishment of a regional representative faction
"Our faction decided on Sunday it would support the regional representatives' proposal in line with our policy of empowering the regions to reduce the threat of disintegration," he said. (rms/prb/jun/nvn/dja)