Jakarta – The Forum of Concerned Citizens for Indonesia's Parliament (Formappi) says that the House of Representatives' (DPR) performance during the IV sitting period for 2022-2023 was poor and declined drastically in comparison the previous period.
Formappi monitoring division researcher Albert Purwa said that one of the indicators of this is that the DPR only enacted one priority draft law, namely the Draft Continental Shelf Law (RUU Landas Kontinen).
"Aside from the poor performance, the DPR's working plan was also no good", said Purwa when speaking in East Jakarta on Thursday May 11.
"At a glance the legislative performance of the IV sitting period appears brilliant with the enactment of 11 draft laws, but only 1 of these draft laws was a priority bill", he said.
Purwa said that the other 10 draft laws that were enacted were open cumulative bills consisting of the ratification of two Perppu (government regulations in lieu of law) and eight provincial bills.
"The DPR should not be proud of the many draft laws that were passed, when there was only one priority [bill]", he said.
In addition to this, Purwa also believes that the many cumulative draft laws that were enacted inversely proportional to the process of deliberating the priority draft law that was actually extended.
Several priority draft law have still not been passed, said Purwa, including the Draft Law on Civil Servants (RUU ASN), the Draft Criminal Procedure Law (RUU Hukum Acara Perdata), the Draft Narcotics Law (RUU Narkotika), the Draft Bill on New and Renewable Energy (RUU EBT), the Draft Law on the Conservation of Biological Natural Resources and their Ecosystems (KSDAHE) and the Draft Law on Mothers and Children's Welfare (RUU Kesejahteraan Ibu dan Anak).
"The huge burden of draft laws that must be completed by the DPR in the remaining time towards the end of 2023 will certainly demand a serious commitment", he said.
Purwa also highlighted the Draft Law on the Seizure of Assets (RUU Perampasan Aset), which he said has been obstructed by the interests of the individual political parties.
He also highlighted a statement by DPR Commission III chairperson Bambang Wuryanto alias Bambang Pacul during a joint meeting with the Coordinating Minister for Security, Politics and Legal Affairs Mahfud MD on March 29.
At the time, Mahfud urged the DPR to immediately discuss and pass the bill but Wuryanto stated that all of the DPR members obeyed their respective "bosses".
"This fact at the same time confirms that the political parties are an obstacle to the birth of decisions that are pro-people", said Purwa.
Preoccupied with 2024 elections
Formappi also believes that the DPR's performance has become increasingly sluggish due to its preoccupation with the 2024 elections. Meanwhile, there are still many important bills that have not been fully discussed.
During the IV sitting period, the DPR commission as a whole – which oversees the implementation of laws and regulations – only held 115 meetings. Yet during the III sitting period, it was able to meet 154 times.
Purwa said it was the same with the DPR bodies that also experienced a drastic decline in meetings. During the IV sitting period, the DPR's five bodies as a whole only met 19 times.
"Yet during the III sitting period, the DPR bodies held 31 meetings", he said. (yla/pmg)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Formappi Nilai Kinerja DPR Buruk, Hanya Sahkan 1 RUU Prioritas".]
