'War' at the House

'War' at the House

Failing to proceed with the discussion on the fate of its speaker
Akbar Tandjung through the Honorary Council, members of the House
of Representatives (DPR) are now preparing a petition to unseat
him.

The move was sponsored by members of the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and National Awakening Party
(PKB) factions, and has so far collected at least 70 signatures.
Those who signed the petition are of the opinion that it is not
decent for Akbar, who is also chairman of Golkar Party, to
continue leading the House after the court sentenced him to three
years in jail in a Rp 40 billion graft case.

Golkar feels uneasy with the move and has decided to
retaliate. The Golkar faction is now preparing a maneuver to take
issue with the legislators absentee records for routine sessions.
Most of the targeted legislators are from PDI Perjuangan and PKB
factions.

Golkar now believes it has a weapon with which to shoot its
political foes, conveniently forgetting that several legislators
of the Golkar faction also possess comparable attendance records.

Some of the targeted PDI Perjuangan legislators are big guns,
such as Taufik Kiemas (husband of President Megawati
Soekarnoputri), Laksamana Sukardi (Minister of State Enterprises)
and Arifin Panigoro (a noted businessman).

With these three names included on the list of delinquent
legislators, Golkar believes that it has a strong bargaining
position on the petition filed against Akbar.

The war starts in the House. Each faction has been trying to
capitalize on its rivals' sins or mistakes, and may in fact
benefit the general public as it could expose malfeasance in the
House.

Thus it should become clear which legislators really possess a
high morality and take seriously their oath to represent the
people.

-- Republika, Jakarta