Women legislators lead charge against Akbar
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A group of women legislators have taken the lead in the movement to force out House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung over his conviction in a Rp 40 billion corruption case.
Dwi Ria Latifa of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and Ida Fauziah of the National Awakening Party (PKB) have circulated a motion calling for the establishment of a disciplinary committee to determine whether Akbar should be allowed to serve out his term as House Speaker until 2004. The motion has been signed by women legislators from a number of parties, including the Golkar Party, which Akbar chairs.
Ria said the proposal has received the backing of at least three other women legislators: Eka Komariah Kuncoro of Golkar, Nurdiati Akma of the Reform Faction and Tari Siwi Utami of PKB.
Ria, Ida and Marwah Daud Ibrahim, an outspoken critic of Akbar in the Golkar Party, have fiercely opposed Akbar's leadership in the legislative body, but have received no support from the majority of legislators.
"We are upset by the lack of courage on the part of the male legislators to take the initiate to propose such a motion," said Dwi, accompanied by Ida, at her office in the House here on Wednesday.
According to the House's internal rulings, at least 10 legislators must sign the motion before it can be processed by the steering committee (Bamus). Then it can be brought to a plenary session where a decision can be made on whether to accept or reject the motion.
Legislators, mostly from the PKB and minor parties, have introduced similar motions in the past, but they failed to gain the necessary support to force Bamus to bring them to a plenary session.
A district court sentenced Akbar to three years in prison for misusing Rp 40 billion of State Logistics Agency (Bulog) funds. The Jakarta High Court upheld the sentence last week and Akbar has filed a final appeal with the Supreme Court.
Akbar has declined to step down, saying the case occurred in 1999 when he was minister/state secretary, making it a past offense that is not regulated by the House's internal rulings.
Akbar's case is the latest blow to its image that the House has suffered over the last three years.
Among its other public relations disasters were high absenteeism among legislators, a bribery case implicating House Commission IX for financial affairs and a financial scandal involving PT QSAR and House Deputy Speaker Tosary Widjaya.
However, not all of the news coming from the House is bad. Ria and Ida, for their part, have vowed to continue to seek the necessary support to bring their proposal to a House plenary session.