The MPR and DPR: Scenes of
The MPR and DPR: Scenes of
turbulence and contention
Meidyatama Suryodiningrat
Jakarta
Evaluating the state of parliamentary democracy, one of the
country's founding fathers, M. Hatta, conceded that "democracy
needs practice ... there must be some for a nation not
accomplished in this exercise at the national level".
His remarks are as relevant today as they were in 1956. And
what a practice session it has been for members of the 1999-2004
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and the House of
Representatives (DPR) who are ending their five-year terms. Our
representative assembly has been both a source of pride and
embarrassment. They united in the face of executive might to oust
a reckless president, later engaged in fisticuffs against each
other on an issue that no one can now recall; they showed wisdom
and a spirit of conciliation in the colossal task of amending a
constitution; a sacred text, but had no qualms in -- allegedly --
accepting hard cash to pass pieces of legislation.
The chaotic-like nature of representative democracies is as
symptomatic as cancer is to smoking.
Some 250 years ago American James Madison wrote that
democracies have always been spectacles of turbulence and
contention. Madison's prophetic discourse on the peril of an
assembly undermining democratic values, aptly portrays the plight
of Indonesia's own institution. His forewarning of "no cure for
the mischief of factions" ring true.
The 2001 presidential change was the apex of the Assembly's
preponderance garnered through the reform era. A power which has
tilted the delicate system of checks and balances with
legislators becoming a lethal constraint on government, but
itself unparalleled by any other institution.
President Megawati Soekarnoputri must have been reminded of
the irony of the MPR and DPR's power when she received their
overwhelming support in October 2001, although just 18 months
earlier many had successfully conspired to sabotage her
presidential bid.
Only time will tell how the outgoing Assembly and House will
be judged. Apart from amending the Constitution and ousting a
president, the House also passed about 160 laws.
Too "polite" to impose stronger internal rules and regulations
on themselves, the outgoing Assembly -- 70 percent of whom will
not retain their seats -- have just enacted a more stringent Code
of Ethics for their successors.
These new codes not only promise stronger punishments but an
MPR Ethics Council that can effectively impose sanctions, such as
the public exposure of a notice. Removal from office, however, is
not a sanction that can be applied by this ethics council. A
member can only be removed from office by the either the House or
the Regional Representatives Council (DPD).
At the very least it will provide a basis for supervising
legislators' behavior and cut down on absenteeism during
hearings.
Delays and cancellations of hearings have become acute
problems in recent years as attendance has often failed to meet
the 50 percent quorum. The average 52 percent attendance rate
pales to the previous House's 1997-1999 record of 70 percent.
What can we say when people, who earn an average minimum
monthly income of Rp 15 million -- about twice as high as
Indonesia's average annual per capita income, fail to even show
up to work.
False notions of entitlement make legislators neglect their
missions in the legislative chambers -- to serve the public
interest.
Often their oversight breeds politics at its worst, or "war by
other means", with parties sabotaging each other or making
backroom deals for personal political or economic benefit.
Take the National Police bill. It was controversial from the
start as it placed the maintenance of security and order as the
predominant police duty ahead of serving and protecting the public.
Legislators recognized the concerns and seemed to heed the
criticisms when the House delayed the bill and formed a team to
further review it. But weeks later it was quietly passed
untouched. The delay turned out to be merely a ruse.
Thus, despite the new Code of Ethics and Standing Orders,
ultimately the performance of the House will depend on the
sincerity of those who work there.
What of the new -- 120 DPD and 550 House -- members?
Many say there is hope given that an overwhelming majority are
new members. However being new does not guarantee integrity, it
just means that the person has had not had a chance to be
corrupted yet.
The House in particular could be even more fractious with no
party occupying more than 23 percent of the seats. We shall also
have to wait and see how effective the Nationhood Coalition will
be. Spurred on by Golkar and the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI-P), the coalition boasts a total 323 seats. On
paper it has the makings of a tyranny by assembly.
As Hatta in his observation in 1956 noted, "party politics is
anomalous, because real power does not reside with the
responsible authority but with the party board who has no
responsibility (to the people)".
Our elected representatives, self-admittedly, are not agents
of the voting masses. They are tokens for the party which ushered
them in. Despite the introduction of a limited open-list system
in the April 5 general election, only one legislator was elected
by a direct vote. The remainder won seats based on their ranking
in the party lists.
Thus rather than the people's interest, the rationale of their
exploits seem closer to Karl Marx's notion of "false
consciousness" -- the people's desires are false as they don't
know what they want and only these distinguished members of the
assembly do.
The progeny of our second democratic general election may
continue to erode our faith, but Indonesians must retain hope in
the process for the ills of an "assembly" is not ours alone. It
has been persistent through history.
Just as Plato over a thousand years ago remained faithful in
the belief that the trouble with democracy was not due to the
absence of the rule of law, but that the wrong people were
running it -- those who have little virtues.
We may also take heart, as Mark Twain in typical satire wrote:
"Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of
Congress, but I repeat myself!"
The author is a staff writer for The Jakarta Post.