Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – An alliance of non-governmental organizations criticized the House of Representatives on Wednesday for what it called poor performance over the past three months, during which time the legislature enacted only four new laws. Lawmakers still served the executive body and their own political parties rather than the public, critics added.
The NGOs said the House exhibited a poor legislative process and ineffective control and budgetary functions during the three-month session that began in May. The House is to end the term with a plenary session Friday.
Alliance spokesman Anung Karyadi said the bills passed into law during the past three months were poor in terms of both quantity and quality.
"Only four bills, including the ones on Aceh governance and the protection of witnesses and victims, have been endorsed and they are qualitatively poor because the House has failed to listen to the relevant stakeholders during deliberations," he said.
The House also lacked transparency and did not involve the public in deliberating bills, said Anung, who is also the advocacy coordinator of Transparency International Indonesia.
In addition, he said, the House had no clear policies and timetable for its legislative process, leaving it vulnerable to government control.
"The lack of transparency and the poor legislative policy and public participation were apparent in the process of passing the law on Aceh governance, and in the deliberation of the pornography bill," Anung said.
The recent enactment of the Aceh law met strong opposition from some Aceh residents, who staged a general strike. Activists criticized the deliberation of the anti-pornography bill.
Anung said the NGOs were pessimistic that the House could reach its target of completing the deliberation of 76 bills this fiscal year, because only 12 had been endorsed.
The NGOs included Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), Transparency International Indonesia, the Center for Electoral Reform, Indonesian Human Rights Watch, ProPatria, the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation and the Centre for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies (PSHK).
Ridaya la Ode Ngkowe, an ICW member, said the House also failed to follow up on various issues it had discussed in hearings with the government.
"The House set up a special committee to supervise its performance, but the committee has yet to make progress reports on the handling of the deadly earthquake that rocked Yogyakarta last month and the discovery of an illegal arms stash at the home of a deceased Army general," he said.
Riyada said the House's budgetary function was weak, since many agreements on foreign aid had been signed by the government without any approval or consultation from lawmakers.
"In this matter, the House still functions as a rubber stamp to approve the state budget, and fails to control foreign aid received by the government," he said.
However, Agung, Riyada and other NGO activists, who spoke at a news conference, applauded the House's recent harsh action against legislators for unethical conduct, saying it was a good step toward restoring the institution's tarnished image.
Lawmaker Aziddin has been dismissed by the House's disciplinary council for breaching the House's code of ethics. Aziddin allegedly acted as a middleman to help a private firm win a government contract to build a dormitory for people making the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. The council rebuked 18 other legislators for unethical behavior.
PSHK coordinator Bivitri Susanti said the House should review its internal rules to increase public participation and transparency in the legislative process.
"Besides giving priority to deliberating bills that will benefit the people, the House should also set a clear timetable for their deliberations. Legislators should pay more attention to their constituents' interests than to those of their parties and the government," she said.