Anita Rachman – Forming special committees to investigate corruption scandals is understandable, but for lawmakers to meanwhile neglect their main duty of debating and passing bills is ridiculous, analysts and lawmakers said on Sunday.

"They [House of Representatives] have had a break for a month and they begin work Monday [today], so no more excuses for these legislators. They have received 70 bills to deliberate and pass into law by the end of this year. Nothing has been done," Sebastian Salang, chairman of Concerned Citizens for the Indonesian Parliament (Formappi), told the Jakarta Globe.

"Our lawmakers are very ambitious people," he said. "They say they will pass 70 bills by the end of 2010. They need to balance the roles they play, including when it comes to setting up special committees."

The House is back in session today. The month-long break for legislators came after two months of intensive investigations into the Rp 6.7 trillion ($737 million) Bank Century scandal by a House special committee.

"They seem to have forgotten their role of deliberating bills and passing them into law. I believe they will end up passing just 24 bills by the end of the year," Sebastian said.

On Friday, House deputy speaker Anis Matta urged the creation of a new special committee to look into the nation's taxation system.

"There is a list of priority bills that need to be passed, including the state administration bill that focuses on bureaucratic reform. Corruption cases can be cut down with bureaucratic reform in state institutions. For that reason alone, the state administration bill is a priority," Sebastian said.

Of the 70 bills targeted, 38 were drafted on the House's initiative, while the remaining 32 were proposed by the government.

Ronald Rofiandri, of the Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies, said he had low expectations based on past performance. He noted that the legislature elected in 2004 only passed 14 of the 55 bills proposed in its first year.

"A bill that needs to be a priority is legal aid for the poor. But so far, I believe they are only focusing on investigations through special committees," Ronald said. He said the special committee process itself is fraught with opportunities for corruption and serving special interests.

Lawmaker Lily Wahid, of the National Awakening Party (PKB), said she would consider it an extraordinary achievement if the House managed to pass 75 percent of the 70 bills.

Ignatius Mulyono, chairman of the House Legislation Body, said he believed the House would, at best, pass just 40 bills into law this year. "It is impossible if they believe passing bills into law is a part-time job. The process needs detailed considerations and affects the entire nation," Ignatius said.