The Local Representative Council (DPD) as the lower house of the Parliament in Indonesia has less political capacity compared to the higher house of the Parliament. However, according to the Director of Indonesia Parliamentary Center (IPC), Ahmad Hanafi, DPD may use another way to prove their worth. Hanafi says, DPD has the capacity to vetoed a policy or a bill based on public opinion. In other words, DPD should demonstrate their clear position on a political issue.
“There are many other state institutions that only have the authority to provide policy recommendations. However, they consistently do their job properly. DPD can also be like these institutions. Public will know eventually the worth of DPD if DPD is willing to consistently do their job,” says Hanafi during a public discussion titled “Revitalizing DPD’s Role and Position” in Jakarta (03/07).
An expert on constitutional law, Refly Harun, says the same thing with Hanafi. According to Refly, all DPD members should improve their leadership skill. DPD members should be able to demonstrate their political performance so the media are interested to cite their statement.
“The point is that DPD members should demonstrate their political position on certain issues, even though they do not possess veto rights,” says Refly.
DPD should be able to provide regional perspective and insights in doing their job to balance the role of the higher house of the Parliament, especially the national parliament (DPR). Hanafi says it would be very decent if DPD start to advocate the rights of the minority which have been neglected so far.
