ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly

 

1. PARLIAMENTARY SITTINGS

In his opening remarks on 12 May 2008 at the Fourth Session of the House of Representatives for the period of 2007 – 2008, Speaker of the House, HR. Agung Laksono said that up to the end of the Third Session, the House had passed 104 Bills into Laws. One of them is the Law on Public Information Openness. The Law guarantees the rights of the people to have information on the plan and the making of public policy including the process and the background of decision making. With regard to the increase of world food prices especially rice, the Speaker suggested that Indonesiashould not be a rice exporter. On the other hand, the government must focus on the strengthening of national food security.

He further stated that one of the national political agenda was the general election which would be held next year. In this connection, he reminded that it was the responsibility of all elements of the nation to make it successful. The convening of the general election will be conducted in several stages and should be done appropriately and systematically based on the General Election Law.

The House also expressed its sympathy to the victims of several natural disasters which occurred at home and abroad. One of them was the Nargis cyclone in Myanmar which killed 80.000 people. On international issues, the House expressed the wish that Indonesia could play its role more actively in creating peace, security and stability in the Asia Pacific region. On the conflict in Myanmar, the House expressed the expectation that Indonesiaand the other ASEAN member countries could jointly urge the Military Junta to implement democracy in Myanmar and to hold general elections for the legislature.

 

2. DPR-RI ATTENDED INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL CONFERENCES

1. Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) Sub-Committee Meeting on Integrated Energy Market, 15 - 16 May 2008, Moscow, Russian Federation

This meeting was attended by ten APA member countries: Afghanistan, Bahrain China, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Philippines, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. The meeting decided that it is crucial for Parliament to develop dialogue in Asia to establish an advisory group to pursue the implementation of the objectives delineated in the plan of action on the promotion of Asian Integrated Energy Market.

The meeting reminded that it is important to develop cooperation in Asia especially in energy considering the increase in demand of energy. It also realized the need to take measures and policies in order to implement energy efficiency.

 

2. Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) Sub-Committee Meeting on Alleviating Poverty in Asia, 12 - 13 June 2008, Jakarta, Indonesia

Hon. Abdillah Toha, Chairman of the Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation of the Indonesian House of Representatives, was elected as the Chairperson of the Sub-committee and Hon Dr. Teo Ho Pin, Member of Parliament of Singapore, was elected as the Vice Chairperson. The meeting was attended by ten APA member countries: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Indonesia, Iran, Kuwait, Lao PDR, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and Turkey.

The meeting resulted in several conclusions. Firstly, the need to strengthen the oversight function towards poverty alleviation programs of respective APA member countries. Parliaments should also support the budget for poverty alleviation programs. Secondly, concrete social safety net programs are required and should be adapted to the need of each country in Asia. Thirdly, the richer countries should continue their assistance programs towards poverty alleviation in the least developed countries. Finally, there is a need to seriously deal with the continuing conflicts in some parts of Asia such as Afghanistan, Palestine, and Iraq in order to create peace and stability which are the main prerequisites to poverty alleviation.

 

3. The 5th Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP)

The Delegation of Indonesia participated in ASEP V meeting in Beijing on 18-20 June 2008. The meeting resulted in the Beijing Declaration, as follows:

At this meeting, the Delegation of Indonesia was elected to be the keynote speaker on the topic of Dialogue among Different Civilizations.  The meeting welcomed and appreciated the paper which can be a good reference for ASEP member countries.

 

4. The 5th AIPA Fact-Finding Committee (AIFOCOM) to Combat the Drug Menace, 22 - 25 June 2008, Singapore

In its executive summary, the Indonesian Delegation reported that Indonesia is still facing an immense drug problem, particularly, the problem of illicit cannabis cultivation. To overcome the problem, the government of Indonesia has drafted a national action plan on alternative development. The programs are to take into account the socio-economic conditions of locals and to accommodate local initiatives such as to address some local health issues as well as work related to empowerment, like banana plantation and other agricultural commodities. Such programs have been developed in Lamteuba-Aceh.

Indonesia also informed the meeting that it has ratified all the United Nations Conventions on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, and illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and has enacted several laws regarding the above matters. Precursor in Indonesia is controlled through Law No. 22/199 on Narcotic Drugs and Law No. /1997 on Psychotropic Substances. In 2007, a joint-departmental meeting of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Law and Human Rights concluded a draft of Governmental Regulation on Precursor Control and has been submitted to the President for approval. Upon approval, the regulation is expected to strengthen further the national framework and mechanism for control of precursor.

 

3. DPR-RI WELCOMED GUESTS FROM FELLOW COUNTRIES

1. Parliament of Uzbekistan

In the ensuing meeting, the Speaker of the DPR-RI expressed his expectation to develop relations between the two countries not only on political matters but also on trade. Meanwhile, the Deputy Speaker of Uzbekistan expressed his gratitude on the good relations existing with Indonesia considering that Indonesia is the largest Moslem country in the world and the first country which recognizes the sovereignty of Uzbekistan.

2. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, H.E. Rais Yatim paid a visit to DPR-RI on 5 May 2008. In the meeting, the Speaker of the House pointed to the illegal logging activities in Indonesia and requested that both Malaysia and Indonesia have an agreement not to protect their senior officials who are involved in illegal logging. Concurring with the Speaker, the Minister promised to support such an action and he will make certain the Malaysian government will not protect and hinder the investigation of the suspects. Malaysia has a commitment to preserve Indonesia’s tropical forest which is part of the lungs of the world.

3. President of Hungary
   

The DPR-RI received a courtesy visit of the President of Hungary, H.E. Laszlo Solyom on 21 May 2008. On this occasion, the President stated that the two countries need to optimally strengthen cooperation in the economic field. Considering that Hungaryis a country producing quality industrial machines and military equipment, the Speaker hoped that these could boost the volume of trade. Indonesia will also increase the volume of export of palm oil, food commodity and plastics. The Speaker asked that economic relations could be realized as soon as possible.