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Peace deal maintains House control over government

Jakarta Post - November 17, 2014

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Margareth S. Aritonang and Hasyim Widhiarto, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's administration may still have to struggle to get policies passed at the House of Representatives as lawmakers have retained their strong grip on the government after a recent deal between the House's two coalitions.

In an effort to end the rift at the House and support the government, the opposition caucus, the Red-and-White Coalition, and the ruling Great Indonesia Coalition agreed last week to amend several articles regulating the authority of lawmakers in Law No. 17/2014 on legislative institutions (MD3).

The agreement included the omission of points 3 to 5 of Article 74 of the law, which obliged government officials to comply with House recommendations or have the President face an inquiry with possible administrative sanctions.

The deal, however, maintains Article 98, point 6, which still obliges officials to obey decisions made during meetings with lawmakers in each of the House's 11 commissions, opening the way for the House to gain the upper hand on government policies.

According to point 6 of Article 98, decisions and conclusions made during House commission meetings or joint-commission meetings are "binding" between the House and the government and are "obligatory" for the government.

Dossy Iskandar Prasetyo, the leader of the Hanura Party faction at the House, said on Sunday that the stipulation was a threat to the country's presidential system.

"We've agreed to uphold a strong House to enable monitoring [of the government]. But we must avoid any stipulations that might lead to a parliamentary system, which is contrary to the presidential system that we have adopted," he added.

The country currently has a presidential system in which the President, as leader of the executive, and the House, as the legislature, have an equal partnership and cannot cancel each other out. The MD3 has led to further control over the President and the government.

The upholding of Article 98, point 6 is seen as a challenge to Jokowi's policies in the near future, including a plan to raise the price of subsidized fuels, which is already facing opposition from many party politicians.

Politicians from the Red-and-White Coalition have opposed amending Article 98, point 6 of the MD3, saying it is necessary to force officials to work.

Deputy leader of the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction Viva Yoga Mauladi claimed that", any decisions or conclusions reached in House meetings will be based on the consent of both the House and the government".

As for the government's plan to raise fuel prices, Viva upheld the right of all lawmakers to make sure all policies benefit the public, including the raising of fuel prices.

"All of our lawmakers will exercise our rights, which are guaranteed by the Constitution. With regard to the fuel-price issue, we believe it's not the time to increase the price," said Didik Mukrianto, secretary of the Democratic Party faction.

Golkar Party lawmaker Firman Soebagyo said the party would use its national leaders' meeting this week to discuss whether it would support or reject the government's anticipated plan.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/11/17/peace-deal-maintains-house-control-over-govt.html.