Armando Siahaan, Jakarta – The nation's oft-maligned regional legislature is trying to claw its way back from obscurity through the revision of a law governing lawmaking bodies, due to be passed by the end of this year.

The Regional Representatives Council (DPD), which under current law should have the power to introduce bills applicable in specific regions, has been effectively sidelined through vague wording of the 2009 Law on Legislative Bodies, critics say.

The Center for Indonesian Law and Policy Studies (PSHK), a think tank dealing with governance, has said the confusing language must be changed in this upcoming revision, and the role of the regional legislature clarified once and for all.

The DPD, for its part, would like to alter the law to put itself on an equal footing of power as the House of Representatives.

The law currently stipulates that the council has the authority to initiate bills pertaining to issues such as regional autonomy, management of economic and natural resources in provinces and the relationship between central and regional government. It also gives the DPD the right to participate during the deliberation of such bills, along with the House and the government.

However, the law does not specify the mechanism of this participation, and so the House is put in the position of regulating the DPD's participation.

PSHK advocacy director Ronald Rofiandri said the House had been reluctant to give the DPD leeway for more participation in law making. "The article leaves room for different interpretations," he said, adding that the House had the power to limit the DPD's involvement as a consequence.

The DPD's role so far has been restricted to providing written input, and it has never been invited to attend active deliberation sessions within the House. Ronald said the DPD must be included in the sessions because it could contribute valuable insight, given that regional issues are its domain.

The PSHK also recommended that the revision of the legislative bodies law give more power to the DPD as an oversight body. The law stipulates that the DPD has the authority to oversee the implementation of any law within its domain, and allows it to submit recommendations to the House when a problem arises with introduction of the legislation.

Ronald said that the DPD must be given the authority to introduce its own solution, instead of just giving a recommendation to the House. "Right now, the DPD's supervisory function does not produce anything concrete; it is just a consideration to be noted by the House," Ronald said.

The PSHK recommendation has been submitted to the DPD, which is currently working to draft its own revision of the 2009 Law on Legislative Bodies. The revision itself has been scheduled as a priority in the National Legislation Program.

The DPD is vying to increase the power of its governance. In August, DPD Speaker Irman Gusman said the body was drafting a constitutional amendment, in addition to the law revision, that would change the council's role and put it on an equal footing with the House.

If the amendment was approved, the regional council would have the authority to pass laws just like the House, effectively adding another lawmaking body. But Hajriyanto Thohari, a deputy speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the collective body that consists of the DPD and the House, said in August that the existing laws governing the DPD's role in the assembly should be changed before resorting to amending the national Constitution.