Ezra Sihite – Indonesian House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie has reacted with anger – but little substance – to comments by Constitutional Court chief Mahfud M.D. that they legislation process was corrupt.
"Please ask Mahfud about his intentions [with his comments]," a visibly angry Marzuki said on Thursday. Marzuki, from the ruling Democratic Party, said he believed the allegations could be seen as a political statement.
Speaking during a public discussion on Tuesday, Mahfud said legislators from the House, also known as the DPR, could be paid to alter legislation, using the term "article trading."
Previous scandals involving the House have shown that some legislators have been paid large sums to pass even the most basic legislation.
Speaking to the Jakarta Globe on Thursday night, Mahfud reiterated his comments, saying he had already explained the nature of allegations to Marzuki.
"I've told him that the evidence is clear. Everybody knows that there are many officials who have been punished for giving money to lawmakers. I gave him examples of cases that have been decided in court. He [Marzuki] agreed, saying yes."
Another Democratic Party lawmaker, Ramadhan Pohan, who sits on House Commission II that oversees internal affairs, said on Thursday that "article trading" was a serious violation and that any such cases should be investigated by law enforcement officials.
"In my opinion as a House member, we should not let violations such as article trading occur," he said. "It is a scary term, as if [the laws] are commodities."
Mahfud said many laws were so poor that they were declared unconstitutional and overturned. He said that of 406 judicial reviews filed in the court between 2003 and November, 2011, 97 were overturned.
Lawmaker Eva Kusuma Sundari, from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), told Jakarta Globe on Tuesday that though article trading may occur, it was not common. She said most the laws were overturned because of the poor quality of the majority of the politicians.