'The brawl was political playacting'

'The brawl was political playacting'

The government's decision to raise fuel prices by an average 29
percent led to a brawl among politicians in the House of
Representatives. The Jakarta Post talked to some Jakarta
residents about how they felt about the incident.

Jati Setyowati, 23, is a student at the Atma Jaya University in
South Jakarta. She resides with her family in Menteng Dalam,
South Jakarta.

As highly educated people, legislators should be better
behaved. They should act like grown-ups and not like infants.
Aren't they aware that all their actions are seen by the public
through the media?

The brawl was ridiculous. They looked like comedians in a
srimulat (traditional comedy) show. I felt let down by them.

I hope this only part of a learning process en route to
democracy that we have to pass through. When Soeharto was in
power legislators never spoke up as they had been systematically
silenced. I hope (the brawl) was just a price we have to pay for
becoming a democratic society.

Suprihadi, 30, is a designer with a spring bed manufacturer in
Tangerang, Banten. He lives with his family in Kebayoran Lama,
South Jakarta.

Their acts were infantile. They should put up strong and
reasonable arguments in such discussions instead of exerting to
violence. By behaving like that, they simply give a bad example
to the people they represent.

I doubt that they were really fighting in the interests of the
people. I think they only use the people to polish up their own
names to obtain popularity. You could see that in the end, they
simply went along with the decision without any significant
opposition. The brawl was only political playacting.

In my opinion, the people will learn from this incident. I am
certain that they will not give their support to those brawling
politicians in the future.