A recent list of lawmakers with poor attendance records has failed to improve turnout at the House of Representatives after 30 percent of legislators failed to show up at a plenary meeting on Tuesday, an activist said.
“As long as the rules of the House of Representatives do not include clear sanctions, absenteeism will continue to be common in plenaries and commission meetings,” said Siti Zuhro, a researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI).
Of the 560 members of the House, 172 failed to attend on Tuesday, Siti said.
Drafting an explicit attendance policy would be one way to boost the presence of lawmakers at plenary and commission meetings, Siti suggested.
“If lawmakers are absent, they should present a letter. If they were sick, then they should have a letter coming from a doctor appointed by the House secretary general so that the document is credible, or if they are absent because of other causes, the fractions should issue a letter so that the non-presence is not considered a mere absence,” she said.
Siti also said that the procedures should be adjusted so that legislators would think twice before skipping plenary or commission meetings.
The Ethics Council at the House of Representatives recently released a list containing the names of lawmakers with attendance records of below 50 percent for the November-December 2012 period.
The issuance of the list was protested by many of the named lawmakers.
On Monday, Democratic Party lawmaker Sutan Bhatoegana said that he was a victim of the list.
He said that he filed proper permits for each of his absences and that the council should have focused on those members who skipped meetings without any reason.
Putih Sari, from the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) party, said that her absence rate was only at 25 percent and nowhere near 50 percent alleged in the list.
“It comes out as if all lawmakers named in the list are lazy and have a bad performance,” Putih said.
She admitted that for the November-December 2012 period, her attendance record was below average, “but not without reason.”
“At that time I was in my early pregnancy and my physical condition was weak because of serious hyperemesis and I had to be treated in hospital for over one month,” she argued, referring to severe vomiting.
She said that her staff had reported her condition to the Ethics Council as well as her party.
“And my report came also attached with a letter from the doctor of the hospital where I was treated,” she said.
Activists had been pushing for the council to disclose the lawmakers’ attendance records, particularly with 90 percent of lawmakers seeking another term at next year’s legislative election. They have said they suspected lawmakers of often putting their own personal interests, such as business and party activities, ahead of their duties, or are simply too lazy to attend meetings.
by: Carlos Paath
