M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – In an unprecedented move, the House of Representatives disciplinary committee recommended Saturday that a lawmaker be dismissed for unethical conduct.
"For the first time in the history of the House, the committee made a decision to dismiss an errant lawmaker," the committee's deputy chairman, Gayus Lumbuun of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), told The Jakarta Post.
Gayus, however, declined to disclose the name of the lawmaker, saying the disciplinary committee would only answer to the House leadership in a plenary session.
The council came to the decision after a marathon meeting behind closed doors in Bogor, West Java, which started Friday.
Seventeen council members had been debating the appropriate punishments for a total of 19 infractions involving several lawmakers. Of the 19 infractions, the disciplinary committee heard cases of alleged bribery, which marred the deliberation of the Aceh governance bill, and the alleged role of a lawmaker as middleman in a project to construct a dormitory for haj pilgrims in Mecca.
In the bribery allegation, members of the working committee tasked to deliberate the Aceh governance law were accused of receiving Rp 5 million each from the Home Ministry as an incentive for expediting the discussion of the bill.
The chairman of the working committee, Ferry Mursyidan Baldan, testified in the council hearing, saying that cash from the ministry had been returned to the state coffers.
Another high profile case involved a lawmaker from the Democratic Party faction, Aziddin. In the haj scandal, Aziddin acted as a middleman on behalf of a private developer, which attempted to get contracts for building a dormitory in Mecca. Aziddin has repeatedly denied the allegation.
The likelihood of the disciplinary committee dropping the axe on Aziddin is greater as the scandal has been under public scrutiny. A number of high-ranking officials at the Religious Affairs Ministry, including Maftuh Basyuni have been vocal about Aziddin's role in arranging the deal.
The disciplinary committee was set up to uphold ethics and discipline among lawmakers. It has the authority to hear cases ranging from absenteeism to bribery.