ID/Novy Lumanauw & ID/Ridho Syukra, Jakarta – Indonesia's finance minister will enjoy greater power and less intervention from the House of Representatives' budgetary commission in making adjustments to the state budget, following a recent ruling from the Constitutional Court.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the verdict will give more power to the finance minister in regards to the state budget and its revisions. "We should respect that ruling," he added.
The Constitutional Court's (MK) decision means the House's budgetary commission will no longer have the authority to finalize the budgets for ministries and government agencies.
Yudhoyono applauded the ruling, saying it would strengthen the position of the government, as the executive, to make firm state-budget plans.
The court issued the verdict on May 22 that favors the judicial review filed by four non-government organizations and two academics against clauses in Law No. 27/2009 involving the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the House of Representatives, the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) and the Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) and those in Law No. 17/2003 on state finance.
The four NGOs were the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra), Indonesia Budget Center (IBC) and Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW).
Feri Amsari, a lecturer in state administration law at Andalas University in Padang, West Sumatra, and Hifdzil Alam, an anti-corruption researcher at the law faculty of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, were also petitioners.
The group believes the commission does not need to be involved in creating the state budget, nor should they be allowed to provide any form of assessment, citing the huge window of opportunity for acts of corruption and collusion to take place between the executive and legislative.
House members' only responsibility, according to the group, is to approve or disapprove budgets, as mandated by the 1945 Constitution.
Finance Minister Chatib Basri declined to comment on how the verdict would impact his role, or that of his successor. "We will discuss this internally," he said, adding the government will abide by the court ruling.
Separately, finance ministry secretary general Kiagus Ahmad Badaruddin said the decision "will ease the drafting [process] of the state budget."
Expressing similar sentiments, Busyro Muqoddas, deputy chairman of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) welcomed the ruling. "It will leave a positive impact," he said, adding that the decision could potentially reduce the number of graft cases committed by lawmakers.
The KPK deputy chairman was referring to lawmakers Muhammad Nazaruddin, Angelina Sondakh, Olly Dondokambey and Zulkarnaen Djabar, to name a few, who have been accused of allegedly mismanaging billions of rupiah from various government agency budgets.
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/mk-curbs-house-say-budgets/