Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – New Year has brought no change to the House of Representatives, which is struggling to fight its chronic problem of absenteeism, despite mounting legislative work in the final nine months of its term.

A nearly empty House plenary session marked the start of legislative work Monday, with only 163 out of 550 lawmakers registered for the meeting. More legislators were seen streaming into and some others leaving the hall as the session proceeded, only to miss the House speaker's complaint about the lack of discipline among the politicians.

More legislators seemed to turn a deaf ear to Speaker Agung Laksono as they received and sent text messages or conversed with people outside the House via their telecommunication gadgets as Agung was delivering his opening speech.

At the end of the plenary, 315 were registered in the presence list, with 90 lawmakers formally asking for the day off.

Agung called on the lawmakers to improve their discipline now they would have to divide their attention between legislative duties and party commitments ahead of the elections in less than three months time.

"Public concern that less and less legislators attend hearings and carry out legislative work should serve as a wake-up call for us. I want all factions to uphold discipline, especially in the final months of our tenure as legislators," Agung said.

Article 6 of the House code of ethics requires legislators to physically attend all meetings and plenary sessions, but only threatens punishment against lawmakers who skip meetings three times in a row.

With most of the lawmakers seeking reelection in the April 9 polls, there has been concern that the House will ignore crucial bills.

Political observer Tommy Legowo suggested the House should mandate the Disciplinary Council to monitor everyday activities of the legislators, if necessary tracking down their whereabouts when they are absent from mandatory meetings on crucial bills.

"The Council and House leaders should not tolerate errant lawmakers and hand down firm punishments," Tommy said. The Council once proposed a plan to name lawmakers who made no-shows too often, but this never materialized.