Watchdog Formappi on the Death of Oppositions in Parliament
Translator
Editor
11 October 2019 08:43 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesia Parliament Watch (Formappi) called for people to tightly monitor and control the political dynamics within the House of Representatives (DPR) as the organization believes that opposition has died and ceases to exist within parliament.
“I may argue that the disappearance of any opposition within the parliament is already visible now. Coalition parties have generously handed out leadership positions to oppositions,” said Formappi researcher Lucius Karus in Jakarta on Thursday, Oct. 11.
He mentioned the position of People’s Consultative Assembly’s Speaker that was handed to an opposition party member. The lead legislator positions in the House of Representatives (DPR) were also proportionally distributed to every political party.
Lucius argues that those are attempts to weaken the influence of oppositions and can be seen as a political bribe. He views that the critical stand against such practices as the role to control Legislators by opposition party members is instantly muted.
“This means it’s very crucial for the general public to constantly maintain control at the DPR,” said Lucius.
Furthermore, he believes the new DPR legislators will have a difficult time to keep the government under control. He also thinks it is a price that political parties pay to make sure President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and VP Ma’ruf Amin would be able to lead the country without any form of resistance or criticisms.
FIKRI ARIGI