Vaudine England, Jakarta – Parliament is set to pass seven laws this week in a plenary session starting today – although public disapproval is loud on bills including Irian Jaya autonomy and the role of the police.

An international political observer based in Jakarta said yesterday the House of Representatives wanted "to prove it's doing things, and to give it its due, it has managed to get a lot through the legislative process".

But the pressure is on as anything which Parliament fails to pass this week will not make it on to the agenda until after the Ramadan fasting month and Christmas holidays.

Meanwhile, the higher body, the Peoples' Consultative Assembly, is to hold its regular annual session starting on November 2. In recent years, these sessions have been overtaken by arguments over who should be president but this year it will tackle broader constitutional issues.

The credibility of the House of Representatives has slumped in recent weeks following revelations in local media about the role bribery plays in committee deliberations and the passing of laws. Now is the time, legislators hope, to impress on the public that it can do its job effectively.

So far, the public is unimpressed. The draft oil and gas bill, for example, has been criticised by leading executives of international resource companies who say its vague provisions on tax and contract security will have a direct downward impact on foreign investment in Indonesia. In reply, a parliamentarian said that if the foreigners did not like the law, they could leave.

The draft police bill has angered non-governmental organisations for failing to put service to the public as the top priority for officers. "All factions in the House must consider the aspirations of the people by suspending enactment of the bill until comprehensive revision can be undertaken," said Adnan Pandupraja of Indonesian Police Watch. He added that the bill could be seen as militaristic, and was flawed because of the lack of public participation in its drafting.

In an example of the last-minute nature of the law-making process, negotiations continued until 3am yesterday on major issues relating to the special autonomy Jakarta intends to offer Irian Jaya. "The arguments are about the role of the police and the military in Irian Jaya, the tax system and how to split revenues from the province between Jakarta and the province," said a source.

He said although Parliament had the right to pass laws, it still needed approval from the President, and in practical terms at least some public support in Irian Jaya if the law was to work.

Papua Presidium leader Theys Eluay, facing trial for subversion, likened the draft Special Autonomy Law to the allegedly rigged UN referendum of 1969 which first gave Irian Jaya to Jakarta. "As long as there are no talks between the Government and the people, the issue will remain unresolved," he said.