Three momentous days in the lives of House members

By Ahmad Junaidi

JAKARTA (JP): As you read this, many new legislators are probably sitting down to breakfast in four Jakarta hotels.

Others from outside the city may be sight-seeing and getting to know their home for the next five years.

All 1,000 members of the House of Representatives and People's Consultative Assembly were expected here for registration at their hotels by noon yesterday.

Accommodation arrangements between Sept. 27. to Oct. 1 are handled by a committee from the General Election Institute.

Institute spokesman Dailami told The Jakarta Post that dozens of luxury buses had been assigned to pick up legislators from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Halim Perdanakusuma Airport and Gambir railway station to ferry them to their hotels.

These same buses will transport them to the Senayan complex on Oct. 1 for the swearing-in ceremony.

Legislators from the Armed Forces and Golkar factions are staying at the Hotel Sari Pan Pacific and Hotel Indonesia on Jl. M. Thamrin, Central Jakarta, respectively.

Members of the United Development Party and provincial representatives (Utusan Daerah) are accommodated at Hotel Sahid Jaya on Jl. Sudirman.

Legislators from the Indonesian Democratic Party and those from Utusan Golongan (representatives of particular groups) are at Kartika Chandra Hotel on Jl. Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta.

Upon arriving at the hotels, legislators will be reimbursed for transportation expenses and receive their daily allowances.

In the past, members would hold meetings at their hotels with their faction during the three days leading up to their induction.

Hotel accommodation is also provided to legislators who are Jakarta residents or reelected members living in the DPR complex in Kalibata, South Jakarta.

Some of these meet their friends at the hotels during the day but return to their homes at night. Others invite their families to stay in the hotel.

As in the past, all members will also get new suits. According to the committee's agenda, House members must wear full formal clothing.

This means suits and the black peci national hat for men, and traditional kebaya attire for women.

The suits are made by several tailors appointed by the committee.

One of the tailors from Harmoni, Central Jakarta, claimed he received an order to make 20 suits for legislators through a middle man.

The man, who preferred to remain anonymous, said he was paid Rp 200,000 (US$66.6) per suit, but the material for each cost Rp 150,000. Each suit was completed in 10 days.

"I bet the middleman told the committee the cost was Rp 500,000 each," he said.

He said he received an order to make 100 suits when the country hosted the APEC Summit in 1994.

The tailor, who boasted that nobody had ever expressed dissatisfaction with his workmanship, was surprised to find that there were 1,000 members of the People's Consultative Assembly and the House.

"Maybe other tailors got orders, too. But I don't know what tailor could give a low price like us," he said.

Dalaimi said members would attend the Pancasila Sanctity ceremony to honor national heroes at Lubang Buaya, East Jakarta, before their installation at 10 a.m. Wednesday.