THE INDONESIAN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY, AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 2008
- PARLIAMENTARY SITTINGS
In his speech at the Plenary Session of the opening of the Second Session on 24 November 2008, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, H.E. H.R. Agung Laksono, stated some points as follows:
On legislation, the House will discuss 79 Bills during the Second Session of Parliamentary Sittings while 51 of the Bills have been in the phase of deliberation. He informed that the House had passed 141 Laws. The Members of the House will end their term of duties in 2009. Therefore, the House had passed 60% to 75% of the proposed Bills at the end of its term of office. He also stated that the House will always encourage the Government to implement carefully the 20% of the State Budget allocated for education and to focus on a fully implemented budget, merely for educational programs.
The newly elected President Barrack Obama for 4 years has given a new hope not only for the Americans but also for the international society. People hope that Obama will be able to bring the world into a better situation, fairer, and more peaceful as well as to carry out humanitarian missions. The House hopes that the USA will conduct soft power policies in implementing its foreign policy considering that the use of force in solving conflicts will only create negative impacts to the degrading quality of people’s life in the affected countries such as those in Middle East, West Asia, South Asia and Africa. Empirically, violence will never resolve conflicts. It does trigger another subsequent violence which is more difficult to be halted.
- DPR-RI ATTENDED INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL CONFERENCES
- The 119th General Assembly of Inter-Parliamentary Union on 13-15 October 2008 in Geneve - Switzerland
Indonesia has been actively taking part in the IPU. As part of this dynamism was the candidature of H.E. H.R. Agung Laksono, Speaker of the House of Representatives, to be President of IPU for the period of 2008 – 2010 at the IPU presidential election held at the 119th General Assembly of IPU on 13-15 October 2008 in Geneve. The enthusiasm of Indonesia to nominee a leader who will preside over the international parliamentary organization with 154 Member Parliaments was due to the support given by several parliaments of neighboring countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
Furthermore some facts also make the House aware of Indonesia’s comparative advantages. Indonesia is the third biggest democratic state in the world. The international community has acknowledged the rapid progress of democratization as well as the efforts to protect and develop human rights in the country. IPU Members have appreciated the active participation of Indonesia in IPU and its success in hosting two IPU General Assemblies, namely: the 104th General Assembly in October 2000 in Jakarta and the 116th General Assembly in April 2007 in Bali.
On the candidature, the Indonesian Delegation made intensive lobbying with the other delegations from 150 countries in the world. The lobbying was made at the Meeting of Women Parliamentarians in Centre International de Conferences Geneve (CICG) and to the countries of the ASEAN and Asia-Pacific region. Each country possessed three votes for each voting process. Through the lobbying, Indonesia was expected to reach the determined provisions for the candidacy of the IPU Presidency. Relating to the matter, Malaysia supported Indonesia and asked the ASEAN countries plus China, the Republic of Korea and Japan to also carry out the lobbying for the Indonesian candidacy.
In that election, Namibia was elected to be the President of IPU. Nonetheless, many countries gave positive response to the Indonesian candidacy which was an acknowledgement of Indonesia’s consistently active participation in the international forum.
- The 3rdPlenary Session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) on 26 – 29 November 2008 in Jakarta, Indonesia
The 3rd Plenary Session of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) on 26 – 29 November 2008 was held at the Jakarta Convention Center, Indonesia. This plenary was participated by 250 participants from 26 APA Member Parliaments, 3 (three) observer parliaments, and 1 observer organization. According to the Charter and the Rule of Procedure of APA, the Speaker of the Indonesian House was elected as the President of APA for the period of November 2008 – November 2010.
In the plenary, Indonesia proposed a theme on Asia and the Need for a New Global Architecture which was a central issue following the condition of economic crisis in the world. The collapse of financial boards and big investment in USA caused by the stagnation credit of sub-prime mortgage, the soared of the oil’s price, and the effect of economic recession in various sectors, have indicated the condition of the crisis. Relating to the matter, the Indonesian Delegation proposed a Jakarta Declaration concerning the topic and the declaration had been successfully approved and signed by 26 Member Parliaments of APA. The declaration was aimed to support the implementation of world monetary system in Asia. It is hoped that Asia will play a significant role in strengthening the financial system in the region and appeals the governments of APA member countries to take alternative efforts in returning market trust, minimizing the long term financial risks, and promoting the global economic growth.
- AIPA Seminar on Enhancing Parliamentary Training Cooperation on 1 – 2 December 2008 in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
The Indonesian House of Representatives participated in the AIPA Seminar on Enhancing Parliamentary Training Cooperation held on 1 – 2 December 2008 in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.
According to the Indonesian Delegation, the training will support the Members of Parliament to perform their tasks. It could also broaden the knowledge of the Newly Elected Members of Parliament particularly the matters related to the tasks and function of Parliament as well as their implementation. The seminar had produced a recommendation on the advantage of training for the Parliament and will be proposed at the forthcoming General Assembly of AIPA to be held in August 2009 in Thailand. It is expected the General Assembly will adopt a resolution on that matter. Therefore, the Indonesian House of Representatives is planning to hold an orientation for the newly elected Member Parliaments from the 2009 General Election before taking their oath and conducting their tasks as the members of Parliament.
- DPR-RI WELCOMED GUESTS FROM FELLOW COUNTRIES
- Delegation of the Commission of Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives of Netherlands
On 15 October 2008, Vice Chairman of the Committee I of the Indonesian House, Mr. Sidharto Danusubroto, received the visit of the delegation of the Commission of Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives of Netherlands led by the Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Heng J. Ormel. Referring to the prohibition of the Indonesian commercial flight to European countries, the Commission supported the efforts of Garuda Indonesia Airways to resume route-flights to European countries. It will give not only technical assistance but would also be pleased to be the first country for the first Indonesian commercial flight to Europe. Furthermore, Mr. Heng J. Ormel expressed that until now, the close cooperation between Indonesia and Netherlands has been proven on defense maters, particularly on the security cooperation of shipping traffic lane in Malacca Straits that has attracted the world’s attention.
- Delegation of the Thai National Legislative Assembly
On 23 October 2008, the Speaker of the Indonesian House, H.E. H.R. Agung Laksono received a Courtesy Call of the Speaker of the Thai National Legislative Assembly, H.E. Chai Chidchob. On the occasion, the Speaker of the Indonesian House stated that Indonesia would act as a mediator in resolving the conflict of South Thailand without any interference in Thai internal affairs. The Speaker of the Thai National Legislative Assembly expressed his gratitude to Indonesia which had given its assistance to solve the conflict. The Speaker, Agung Laksono, said that Indonesia and Thailand still faced obstacles to handle the issues of the fishery sector particularly the issue of territorial waters which called for a joint solution.
- Delegation of the Commission of Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid of the Federal Council of Germany
On 30 October 2008, Vice Speaker of the House, H.E. Mr. Muhaimin Iskandar received a visit by a Delegation of the Commission of Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid of the Federal Council of Germany led by the Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Christoph Straesser. The Vice Speaker of the House expressed his hope that Indonesia and Germany could maintain and strengthen the close cooperation of ‘Government to Government’ and ‘Non Government Organization to People’ in promoting democracy and political empowerment. On that occassion, Mr. Christoph Straesser stated that it would be very important to maintain the strategic cooperation considering the good existing relations between Indonesia and Germany.
- Delegation of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia
On 3 November 2008, the Speaker of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, H.E. Harry Jenkins, paid a Courtesy Call on the Speaker of the Indonesian House, H.E. HR. Agung Laksono. The Speaker, Agung Laksono, explained that the democratization process in Indonesia had developed rapidly and that the House together with the Indonesian Government would upheld the process as well as the unity of the Indonesian nation. He also hoped that the countries that do trade with Indonesia will not face prolonged difficulties arising from the current global economic crisis. He expressed the hope that the trade cooperation between Indonesia and Australia would not be affected and would instead further increase in the future.
