The new government and irresponsible House Djoko Susilo  ;   Formerly a House of Representatives member representing the National Mandate Party and Indonesian ambassador to Switzerland

JAKARTA POST,  01 Oktober 2014

                                                                                                                       

Today, Oct. 1, 2014, the 560 members of the House of Representatives elected in the April 9 polls will be sworn in and within less than three weeks president-elect Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and vice president-elect Jusuf Kalla will take office. There are definitely mixed feelings about the new political setting. Clearly, most Indonesians have high hopes in the Jokowi presidency. He will have many important and urgent matters to solve, such as high unemployment, the oil and gas cartel, the trade deficit, incompetency in dealing with foreign affairs and possible political instability because of strong opposition from the Red-and-White Coalition at the House. It should be noted that Jokowi will begin his presidency with a lower popularity rating and less House support than his predecessor, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was elected twice in 2004 and 2009. The national political landscape has since changed dramatically and it will be more difficult for the new President to govern effectively if the House members behave irresponsibly. A tug-of-war, I am sure, will begin as soon as Jokowi assumes power on Oct. 20. The first challenge for the new administration will concern reducing the fuel subsidy. Although political parties supporting the Yudhoyono administration, such as the Golkar Party, the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the United Development Party (PPP), were in favor of cutting the fuel subsidy, there is no guarantee that they will support Jokowi’s plan to raise fuel prices. Ironically, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), as Jokowi’s primary backer, will be compelled to support Jokowi’s unpopular policy even though under the Yudhoyono administration it consistently challenged attempts to raise fuel prices. Both the opposition bloc and the new ruling party, the PDI-P, will be prone to irresponsible action if they make a decision on such an important policy like a fuel subsidy reduction only for short-term interests. In fact, since the reform movement more than 15 years ago, our House members have hardly won respect for their responsible acts. It is ironic that despite their high salaries and the all facilities they receive, their productivity has been considerably low. Under a normal management system, an employee who does not meet his or her employer’s expectations would be fired. Unfortunately, this mechanism does not apply to the politicians in the House building in Senayan. We, the people who employ them, cannot dismiss them even though they perform dismally. There is no doubt that House members are among the best paid in the country. Besides their monthly take home pay of about Rp 100 million (US$8,330), they are provided with a house, an office with three assistants and, starting from the new term on Oct. 1, each lawmaker holds the authority to disburse billions of rupiah to their constituents. According to the new law on legislative institutions (MD3), the House plays a new role in diplomacy, besides its current supervision, legislative and budgetary powers. Consequently, House members may demand that their service passports be replaced with diplomatic passports, which are normally only for members of the diplomatic corps. Because of their new diplomatic duties, the House members will travel overseas more often than their predecessors on “diplomatic missions”. It is not yet clear how House members will carry out diplomatic missions. I strongly doubt they will perform well, because based on my experiences as a House member and ambassador, very few lawmakers are qualified for such important missions overseas. First, many members do not speak foreign languages well. Second, they lack knowledge about international affairs. Third, they do not have the capacity or skills required in diplomacy. Fourth, negotiating strategic issues with foreign countries it is not the job of politicians, but that of career diplomats. I am afraid the new “diplomatic duties” assigned to the politicians will do more harm than good to Indonesian foreign policy. Take for example articles 82-84 of the 2014 Trade Law, which in principle authorizes the House to say “yes” or “no” in any trade agreement with foreign countries. Trade negotiations and agreements, which normally fall under the auspices of career diplomats and Trade Ministry officials, will be potentially hijacked by political parties for political interests. In short, the government will be held hostage by political infighting in the House. It would be fair to say that giving the House a new role in diplomacy is progress as long as it is restricted to selected issues and qualified House members. The House leaders will have to strictly select lawmakers who can travel abroad on state assignments. It must be stated clearly that fluency in English is mandatory, and that taking along spouses or children on official foreign trips is prohibited. The House leaders have to carefully select targeted countries, or else the lawmakers will be taking paid leisure trips. Europe and the US have been among the top destinations of the House members’ “official” overseas visits. The Indonesian embassies in The Hague, London, Paris, Rome, Geneva and Berlin have been kept busy receiving lawmakers over the last five years. When serving as Indonesian ambassador to Switzerland in 2010-2014, Bern was the least visited place by Indonesian politicians, probably because I openly told them in 2011 that I would not accept them. I was aware that lawmakers allocated less than 75 percent of their time for official programs while overseas. I am afraid the next batch of the House members will maintain the old practice. They will earn more money and get more facilities, take more overseas trips but generate less achievements and products. Only time will tell whether they will irresponsibly waste our time and resources. ●