Kennial Caroline Laia, Jakarta – The appointment of the Golkar Party's Setya Novanto as speaker of the House of Representatives elicited disappointment in the general public and concerns among the business community that the strengthening grip on power of the bloc that backed losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto will lead to political instability.
Chairul Tanjung, the chief economics minister, said on Friday that members of the Indonesian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, or Kadin, had expressed their concerns about the fallout from the ongoing political feud on Indonesia's business sector.
"Kadin has expressed its concerns. I have also heard directly from entrepreneurs who are worried about the current condition," Chairul said at the State Palace in Jakarta.
He said many entrepreneurs he had spoken to feared that the so-called Red-and-White coalition, known as the KMP and which dominated the House, could prevent President-elect Joko Widodo from running his administration effectively.
"There are certainly fears. The business community hopes to see a harmonious relationship between the government and the House, for the executive and legislative branches to build good and constructive ties in order to improve business confidence," Chairul said.
The coalition controls 52 percent of the 560 House seats (or 63 percent if President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's notoriously fickle Democratic Party is included), and earlier this week successfully claimed the House speaker's seat and four deputy speaker seats.
Coalition members now say they are gunning for the chairs of the House's various oversight commissions too. "The commissions and other bodies in the House will likely also be snapped up by the KMP," said Bambang Soesatyo, a Golkar Party politician.
Litany of suspicion
Legal observers have also expressed concern at the appointment of Setya as the House speaker, citing his implication in a litany of corruption cases.
Setya has been linked to or questioned, though never charged, in cases including the embezzlement of bailout funds for Bank Bali in the wake of the 1998 Asian financial crisis; bid-rigging in the awarding of contracts to build a sports complex in Riau province; and a project to issue electronic identity cards, or e-KTP, that ran well over budget.
Veteran lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said that given the current composition of the House leadership, it appeared that legislators were ramping up their efforts to weaken the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, rather than help it in its fight against graft.
"The House indeed has the authority to weaken the function of the KPK by amending the [anti-corruption] law, which will reduce the KPK's authority to question legislators who are allegedly involved in corruption cases," Todung said on Friday.
He said he would not be surprised to see the KMP-controlled House use its powers to weaken the KPK. "No one can argue that many legislators are unhappy with KPK, especially given the antigraft body's track record in putting legislators behind bars. It's undisputed that the KPK is disliked [by politicians]," Todung said.
He said the Constitutional Court's recent rejection of a judicial review of the law on legislative bodies, known as the MD3 law, would become "the new shield" for legislators to keep the KPK at bay.
The MD3 law, passed almost unnoticed a day before the July 9 presidential election, requires the KPK to seek permission from House leaders to question legislators believed to be involved in graft cases. "The MD3 law provides immunity for legislators who have allegedly committed corruption," Todung said.
However, he said the KPK had the backing of the Indonesian public, who would not let it be weakened. "The legislators must remember that the Indonesian public are there to keep an eye and they will not allow them to weaken the KPK," he said.
Only getting started
Donal Fariz, a researcher with Indonesia Corruption Watch, a nongovernmental organization, also agreed about the likelihood of efforts by the KMP legislators to undermine the KPK's authority.
"The new composition of the House leaders, who were appointed by their parties and not voted by other House members, is a threat for the KPK as an institution whose duty is to fight corruption," Donal said.
He cited Setya as the prime example of a legislator unfit to serve, saying the Golkar stalwart had long been linked to several corruption cases but always managed to evade being charged.
Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician Fahri Hamzah, who was appointed one of the four House deputy speakers, previously suggested disbanding the KPK. Donal said the controversial MD3 law was part of the KMP's "political agenda to threaten Indonesia's democracy."
The KMP-controlled House has also passed a bill that abolishes direct elections for mayors, district heads and governors, and instead gives local legislatures the authority to pick regional leaders.
"This is an undisputed fact that shows their intention to sabotage not only law enforcement efforts, but also democracy all together," Donal said. "This is only an initial step for them to carry out their agenda to go against the efforts to build a better democracy in our country."
Legal expert Frans Winarta said any move by the KMP to weaken the KPK would only hurt the credibility of the coalition's legislators.
"They will not only weaken the KPK's authority, but more importantly, they will further hurt the credibility of the House, which is already the subject of a lot of negative perceptions among the general public," he said.
"So instead of hampering the KPK, this is the time for both camps to introspect. The House should be clear of all indications of corruption."
[Additional reporting by Novy Lumanauw & Robertus Wardi.]
Source: http://thejakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/indonesias-businesses-amused-power-play-house/