When will the 'play group' move up a grade?

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Former president Abdurrahman Wahid had such a difficult time finding a polite word to describe the House of Representatives that, back in 2001, he called it a "kindergarten".

Gus Dur, as the former president is known, was referring to the enthusiastic legislators who, in the name of freedom of speech, took every opportunity to interrupt plenary meetings.

The lawmakers did not take too kindly to the joke and figuratively kicked and screamed about it, thus helping to prove Gus Dur's point.

Looking at its track record from 1999 to 2004, it is easy to see how members of the former House might have been mistaken for children, the way they keep repeating the same mistake.

Despite constant public criticism, they continued to put their legislative duties after political interests. Every time they finished a sitting period, there was a big gap between how many bills they hoped to endorse and how many bills they actually endorsed.

According to data from the House Secretariat, from 1999 to 2004 the House was unable to deliberate or finish deliberation of a record 61 bills, 50 of which were prepared by House members themselves.

Of these bills, 24 concerned the establishment of autonomous regions, either provinces, regencies, or municipalities. Two of the 61 bills require more discussion, 19 have to be revised, 27 bills have not received the government's response and only two bills are in the process of deliberation.

The statistics don't lie about the poor performance of the House, which also failed the quality test.

The Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies (PSHK) said House lawmakers, who won their seats in 1999 in the first democratic election since 1955, produced inadequate legislation.

PSHK, a non-governmental organization that observes the performance of the House, said the legislature produced 171 laws between 1999 and 2004 and many of these laws failed to live up to people's demands and future challenges.

An indication of the poor quality of the legislation is the number of laws brought to the Constitutional Court for judicial review.

After just a year of existence, the Constitutional Court examined 44 cases, 22 of which were settled in favor of the plaintiffs.

Poor discipline, demonstrated by the high rate of absenteeism, and political bickering among factions were often blamed for the House's mediocre legislative record.

The House often failed to meet the quorum and promptly delayed meetings that were scheduled to discuss important issues.

They were forced to postpone the endorsement of Miranda S. Goeltom as the senior deputy governor of Bank Indonesia in June because less than half of the 500-member House failed to turn up for the plenary session.

It was the first plenary meeting that could not meet the quorum.

In addition, preparations for the April 5, 2004, general election, the campaign period and the presidential election also contributed to the poor attendance record of the House.

The Mass Communications Forum, which groups journalists covering the House, said the majority of House legislators attended less than 30 percent of all meetings.

The House's steering committee was also unable to convene for 16 consecutive times between January to March, despite the fact that the meeting was crucial to set the schedule for the deliberation of bills.

There were also days when most of the legislators spent their time caught up in political rivalries. Instead of sitting and discussing the aspirations of the people, the legislators debated and reached a consensus behind closed doors on the alleged involvement of Gus Dur and then House speaker Akbar Tandjung in separate graft cases involving the State Logistics Agency.

Critics suspect the inability of many of the legislators to understand their roles and function contributed to this dismal performance.

House leaders said the absence of an effective system hampered efforts to get anything done.

The decision to establish a permanent disciplinary committee raised hopes for a better and more qualified House.

According to the House's standing orders, the committee has the authority to summon House members who do not perform their duties or who evade their responsibilities.

Punishments range from formal reprimands and dismissal after examining the evidence and witnesses. A letter of dismissal will be sent to the president for confirmation.

People were hopeful the current House that was elected in April would bring about change, particularly since almost 70 percent of the 550 House members were new faces.

However, at this point there seems to be little reason for hope given the polarization of factions that support and oppose President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The rivalry between the Nationhood Coalition, comprising Golkar, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, the Prosperous Peace Party and the Reform Star Party, and the People's Coalition of the Democratic Party, Prosperous Justice Party and National Awakening Party, led to a one month stalemate in which very little, if anything, was accomplished by the House.

With almost five years to go, it remains to be seen whether this polarization will continue to affect the House's performance.

Selected leftover bills from 1999-2004:

1. State Secrecy
2. Freedom of Information
3. Currency
4. Population and Prosperous Family
5. Anti-Pornography
6. Witness and Victims Protection
7. Racial and Ethnic Discrimination Eradication
8. Territorial Border
9. State of Emergency
10. Cabinet Ministry
11. Presidential Advisory Board
12. Military Tribunal
13. Teacher
14. Sports
15. Postal Affairs
16. Bank Liquidation
17. Bank Credit
18. Ombudsman
19. Marriage
20. State Audit Agency
21. Health
22. Haj Pilgrimage
23. Terrorism
24. Human Trafficking
25. Immigration
26. Information and Electronic Transaction

Source: The Jakarta Post