Margareth S. Aritonang, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' ethics council revealed on Thursday that it had imposed disciplinary measures, from demotions to dismissals, on 28 lawmakers since 2009 for offenses such as corruption, misbehavior and poor performance.

The council's deputy chairman, Siswono Yudho Husodo, said two of the lawmakers had been fired; six resigned, either voluntarily or after pressure; and seven had been temporarily suspended.

Two lawmakers were stripped of their House faction leadership positions, four others had to relinquish their chairmanship of House commissions, five received written reprimands and two were verbally warned over misbehavior, according to Siswono.

"We've punished five percent of the total 560 lawmakers at the House. We will continue to follow up public complaints of unethical behavior by our lawmakers," Siswono said.

The council is also investigating several other lawmakers allegedly involved in collusion with government officials and state companies.

Siswono was upbeat over the increase in resignations by lawmakers guilty of ethical violations. "The council can force them to resign or ask their party factions to do so if and when they're found guilty," he added.

Lawmakers who have chosen to resign include former Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker Arifinto, who was photographed last year viewing pornographic material on his cell phone during a House plenary session.

Arifinto announced his resignation in April last year, hoping that his move would set an example for others in acknowledging their mistakes. But not all lawmakers found guilty of misconduct or criminal activity have followed Arifinto's lead.

The House had to discharge former Democratic Party lawmaker As'ad Syam in July last year after the Supreme Court handed him a four-year prison sentence for embezzling Rp 4.5 billion (US$467,046) relating to a diesel power procurement while he was the regent of Muaro Jambi in Sumatra.

A similar case involved the former chairman of the Great Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra), Widjono Hardjanto, who was forced to step down last year for missing two consecutive months' worth of House meetings.

Attempting to reassure the public of the council's commitment to upholding ethics, the council's chairman, M. Prakosa, said the council would not take sides over unscrupulous fellow legislators, including a recent complaint filed by State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan, who alleged that several lawmakers had demanded kickbacks from state companies.

"Our investigation has concluded that several lawmakers violated House regulations. They will receive light sentences, either verbal or written reprimands. We will soon be disclosing their names publicly," he said.

Prakosa said that Golkar Party lawmaker Idris Laena had admitted attending "informal meetings" with executives from state-owned shipyard company PT PAL outside the House.

According to a separate source on the ethics council, the House would also be slapping sanctions on Sumaryoto of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Achsanul Qosasih of the Democratic Party, and the PKS' Zulkieflimansyah for allegedly colluding with state companies for personal gain.