Legislative Performance Deemed Poor

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Nearing the end of its term, the House of Representatives (DPR) has been highly criticized for its poor legislative performance, with the quantity and quality being deemed unsatisfactory.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The performance of the DPR during the 2014-2019 period is being viewed negatively by the public. The DPR, which has the mandate of the people, is considered to have not represented public interest. Its legislative performance has received the most criticism.

The DPR\'s Legislation Body (Baleg) recognizes that legislation policy is inseparable from political considerations. However, Baleg considers it unnecessary to couple it with public interest.
Public dissatisfaction with the DPR\'s performance is reflected in a Sept. 18-19 Kompas poll. Of the 529 respondents, 66.2 percent felt their aspirations were not represented by the 2014-2019 DPR. The majority of respondents were also dissatisfied with the DPR\'s performance, mainly in its supervisory, legislative and budgeting functions. Of the three functions, respondents were least satisfied with the legislation function. As many as 63.7 percent of respondents said they were dissatisfied, 24.4 percent said they were satisfied and 11.9 percent had no opinion.
KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI
Activists hold posters calling for the cancellation of the Criminal Code Bill (RKUHP) at the 602nd Kamisan protest on Thursday (19/9/2019) at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. In addition to calling on the government to settle past human rights violations, the activists also criticized the government and the House of Representatives over the revisions to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law and demanded that deliberations on the RKUHP be postponed, saying that the bill contained several controversial provisions that threatened civil liberties.
From a quantitative perspective, the DPR has not completed the national legislation program (Prolegnas). From 2015 to 2019, the realization of the legislation program has consistently been below 50 percent per year. Qualitatively, over the last few weeks, the public sphere has been marked by demonstrations and the rejection of a number of bill that were rushed through before the end of the DPR\'s tenure.
On top of this, the public has rejected the endorsement of revisions to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law and the Criminal Code (KUHP). Revision of the KPK Law was endorsed after two closed discussions by the DPR Working Committee. The KUHP bill was also discussed in private by the DPR and government\'s working committee. However, the KUHP bill has not been passed at the request of President Joko Widodo.
KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO
House of Representatives Legislation Body (Baleg) chairman Supratman Andi Agtas (left) clasps hands with Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly on Tuesday (17/9/2019) during the House plenary meeting at the Senayan legislative complex, Jakarta. Supratman submitted a summary report on the deliberations over the revisions to Law No. 30/2002 on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to the meeting, during which the DPR and the government agreed to pass the KPK Bill into law.
Meanwhile, bills remain that the public wants passed, such as the bill on the elimination of sexual violence. Deliberation of this bill could be postponed for the 2019-2024 period.
Pitting politics against public interest
Baleg deputy chairman Sarmuji dismissed on Sunday (22/9/2019) the assumption that the DPR was in a race against time in the deliberation of several bills and had neglected public aspirations and the quality of deliberations. He said most of the bills had been deliberated and prepared internally long ago and could be approved quickly.
Sarmuji said the existence of political interests behind the deliberation of a number of bills could not be avoided. "The DPR is a political institution, so that there are always political considerations in decision-making. However, there is no need to pit politics in this context against greater public interest," he said.
KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO
A handful of lawmakers fill the more than 500 seats at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta during the House of Representatives plenary meeting on Tuesday (17/9/2019), when the legislature approved the revisions to Law No. 30/2002 on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
Responding to this, a lecturer in political science at Airlangga University in Surabaya, Airlangga Pribadi, argued that the DPR\'s legislative performance in the past five years appeared to lack intellectual considerations. Serious discussions with various parties were also not conducted. He cited as an example the revision of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) Law and the Criminal Code (KUHP) bill.
According to Airlangga, rushed performance cannot be separated from the logic of power. The elite, he said, is building a new political system to be implemented in the next five years. "The political game system begins with two things: first, limiting state institutions that play a role in fighting corruption; second, to limit public control over the political process and power," he said.
A lecturer at Jentera Law School in Jakarta, Bivitri Susanti, said the DPR had violated a number of things, including political ethics. One such violation, he said, is that of the stipulation that DPR members should not make political decisions near the end of their tenure that would have a significant impact on society.
KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO
A Civil Society Movement (Gemas) activist wears a sandwich board during a protest on the Draft Law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence (RUU PKS) on Tuesday (17/9/2019) at the gates of the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta. The poster reads: “I am a victim, I need the RUU-PKS, not just pity.” Gemas demanded that the House of Representatives form a team that included community representatives to deliberate the draft law.
DPR Commission III member ArsulSani acknowledged that legislation performance was indeed one of the reasons behind the public criticism. However, he said whether the DPR preformed well or poorly made no difference to how it was publicly perceived. "If DPR [performance] is good it\'s still [deemed] bad, let alone if its [performance] is really bad," Arsul said.(AGE/NIA

Editor:
naranasrullah

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