Smooth MPR General Session draws praise
Smooth MPR General Session draws praise
JAKARTA (JP): Assembly members patted themselves on the back
yesterday at the end of a smooth and prosaic General Session of
the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
Deputy Speaker of the Assembly Ismail Hasan Metareum said the
legislative body deserved congratulations for finishing the 11-
day congress on time with only minor interruptions.
"No problem. The Assembly managed to reach agreements in its
deliberations during the General Session as expected," he said.
Ismail, who is also chairman of the Moslem-based United
Development Party (PPP), said a minor interruption during
Saturday's Commission C meeting did not ensnare the meeting.
"There's nothing controversial. It's common if debates fill a
deliberation."
Golkar legislator Fahmi Idris interrupted PPP spokesman
Bachtiar Chamsyah during the commission meeting, criticizing him
for wasting time with unnecessary repetition of the party's
general overview of President Soeharto's accountability speech.
After initial reluctance, PPP declared it "could approve" the
accountability speech with further demands for radical
bureaucratic reforms.
It was the only interruption to mark the General Session,
although it merely dealt with a technicality, rather than an
issue of substance.
Leaders of the five Assembly factions had warned their members
against interruptions prior to the general session, saying that
all five factions had reached agreements on the substance of the
congress in their preparatory meetings in January.
The 1,000-member Assembly capped off its congress yesterday
with the election and inauguration of B.J. Habibie as Vice
President for the 1998/2003 term in place of Try Sutrisno.
On Tuesday, the Assembly reelected incumbent President
Soeharto and passed the State Policy Guidelines plus four other
decrees, including one that gives the President extra powers.
The General Session this year was marked by extra tight
security measures amid worries about heightening protests over
rising prices of basic commodities.
A total of 25,000 security officers were deployed to safeguard
the congress, compared to 11,000 five years ago.
Another Assembly deputy speaker, Poedjono Pranyoto, expressed
satisfaction, saying the Assembly passed decrees that were
beneficial to the people.
"Alhamdulillah (praise God) that the Assembly reached
agreements in the spirit of brotherhood. There have been
different opinions among us, but now everything is clear,"
Poedjono, who chaired the Assembly working committee in charge of
the preparatory meetings, said.
He said he did not play down criticism of the Assembly.
"Such criticism serves well as a mirror for us to be
introspective. To err is human, to forgive is divine," Peodjono
said, citing a proverb.
The just concluded General Session drew criticism for lacking
debates, particularly on the vice presidential issue. The
Assembly had already locked the door for former cabinet minister
Emil Salim's bid for the vice presidency even though its congress
had not even started.
Poedjono defended the Assembly's stubborn stance on certain
demands for the alternative candidate, saying that any motions
should meet the rules and mechanisms applying to the highest law-
making body. (amd)
JAKARTA (JP): Assembly members patted themselves on the back
yesterday at the end of a smooth and prosaic General Session of
the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
Deputy Speaker of the Assembly Ismail Hasan Metareum said the
legislative body deserved congratulations for finishing the 11-
day congress on time with only minor interruptions.
"No problem. The Assembly managed to reach agreements in its
deliberations during the General Session as expected," he said.
Ismail, who is also chairman of the Moslem-based United
Development Party (PPP), said a minor interruption during
Saturday's Commission C meeting did not ensnare the meeting.
"There's nothing controversial. It's common if debates fill a
deliberation."
Golkar legislator Fahmi Idris interrupted PPP spokesman
Bachtiar Chamsyah during the commission meeting, criticizing him
for wasting time with unnecessary repetition of the party's
general overview of President Soeharto's accountability speech.
After initial reluctance, PPP declared it "could approve" the
accountability speech with further demands for radical
bureaucratic reforms.
It was the only interruption to mark the General Session,
although it merely dealt with a technicality, rather than an
issue of substance.
Leaders of the five Assembly factions had warned their members
against interruptions prior to the general session, saying that
all five factions had reached agreements on the substance of the
congress in their preparatory meetings in January.
The 1,000-member Assembly capped off its congress yesterday
with the election and inauguration of B.J. Habibie as Vice
President for the 1998/2003 term in place of Try Sutrisno.
On Tuesday, the Assembly reelected incumbent President
Soeharto and passed the State Policy Guidelines plus four other
decrees, including one that gives the President extra powers.
The General Session this year was marked by extra tight
security measures amid worries about heightening protests over
rising prices of basic commodities.
A total of 25,000 security officers were deployed to safeguard
the congress, compared to 11,000 five years ago.
Another Assembly deputy speaker, Poedjono Pranyoto, expressed
satisfaction, saying the Assembly passed decrees that were
beneficial to the people.
"Alhamdulillah (praise God) that the Assembly reached
agreements in the spirit of brotherhood. There have been
different opinions among us, but now everything is clear,"
Poedjono, who chaired the Assembly working committee in charge of
the preparatory meetings, said.
He said he did not play down criticism of the Assembly.
"Such criticism serves well as a mirror for us to be
introspective. To err is human, to forgive is divine," Peodjono
said, citing a proverb.
The just concluded General Session drew criticism for lacking
debates, particularly on the vice presidential issue. The
Assembly had already locked the door for former cabinet minister
Emil Salim's bid for the vice presidency even though its congress
had not even started.
Poedjono defended the Assembly's stubborn stance on certain
demands for the alternative candidate, saying that any motions
should meet the rules and mechanisms applying to the highest law-
making body. (amd)