It is perhaps the loss of public faith in Indonesia’s House of Representatives that explains why the harder it seeks to boost its image, the more it disappoints its constituents. The House has gradually distanced itself from the public for whom it is supposed to fight and defend.
The tall fence surrounding the House compound is merely evidence of a gap separating the elites inside and the masses outside to whom they are indebted, as without their votes the political bigwigs would never have accumulated the unimagined power that has made such a big change in their lifestyles.
They may have forgotten, but the public has not, that about 14 years ago they were public officials who were fleeing a collapsing regime or just skinny students joining historic street rallies to demand the resignation of an aging leader who had already lost international support. In the name of democracy they were given an equal opportunity in the reborn Indonesia.
But what have the 560 elected representatives contributed to democratization in this country, except for time-consuming debates pursuing group, party or self interests?
With so much authority under their belts, they have done little to generate legislation to protect natural resources for the good of the whole nation or raise the country’s standing on the international stage. It is no surprise that public trust in the House is quickly waning.
Many would not hesitate to denounce the lawmakers as traitors as they have abused their mandates in order to steal the people’s money, as evinced in a string of mega-corruption scandals that have rocked the legislative body.
A survey conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies last month revealed that only 22.4 percent of respondents believed that the political parties represented in the House performed well. In other words, the majority of people no longer have faith in the legislative body.
A corrupt, or to be more precise rent-seeking, mentality pervades the House and is the first and foremost stumbling block in the way of building a respected and credible democratic legislative body.
The House has already lost respect through its policies, statements and behavior of individual members. Too often the House cannot even commence business because of a failure to reach a quorum, as with the hearings with the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center and the National Counterterrorism Agency last week that saw only four members of House Commission III on legal affairs show up.
For too long House members and leaders have been unable to address such chronic, and unpunished, absenteeism. House leaders once called for the procurement of finger print scanners to deal with lazy lawmakers, but the plan only sparked more criticism at the excessive budget proposed for the facility.
The House leadership caused yet another controversy recently by issuing a regulation banning women, either female lawmakers or staff, from wearing revealing dresses fearing it might trigger immoral conduct.
When the legislative election comes in less than three years, politicians will have to be prepared for a popular backlash unless they change.
