JAKARTA. After getting away with skipping House of Representatives’ sessions, Democratic Party lawmaker and a son of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Edhie “Ibas” Baskoro Yudhoyono, has finally been caught out for his absence from the House.Ibas’ failure to appear for a plenary session on Tuesday caused an uproar as it blatantly showed his disregard for his House duties.Poor attendance by lawmakers is one of several problems that the House struggles with, in addition to poor legislative performance and overseas visits that are considered unnecessary.It is common practice among lawmakers to sign the list of attendance but remain absent from House sessions.During Tuesday’s plenary meeting, for instance, the list of attendance recorded 327 of the total 560 lawmakers, but no more than 250 lawmakers could be counted in the hall. To improve discipline among lawmakers, the House installed fingerprint scanners worth Rp 279 million (US$29,295) last year to help prevent absenteeism.In spite of the scanners, however, the House’s secretariat general still requires lawmakers to sign the attendance list to improve their discipline.On Tuesday, Ibas duly arrived at the House compound but the presidential guards fetched the list of attendance, allowing him to sign it outside without going through the door where the list is usually signed.Unlike most lawmakers, who enter the plenary hall by the front entrance and sign the attendance list, Ibas was spotted cautiously arriving from behind the plenary room with his aides and presidential guards at around 10:30 a.m., 30 minutes before the session was due to begin.While waiting for the attendance list to be brought to him, Ibas was spotted waiting near an elevator at the left wing of the plenary hall.Ibas left shortly after signing the attendance list and giving a brief response to questions from journalists.Responding to the incident, House ethics committee chairman M. Prakosa said a probe would be launched to determine whether Ibas had broken any rules or regulations.“It’s unethical for him to do something like that. It’s also wrong for anybody to assist him with an irregular registration process. We provide room for members to register themselves. We’ll look further into the matter,” he said.Democratic Party executives defended Ibas, the party’s secretary-general, arguing that he should be allowed to circumvent House rules given his many duties as a senior party official.Democratic Party deputy chairman Max Sopacua, blamed the media for “sensationalizing” their reports of the incident.“I think we don’t need to criticize it too much. He is a secretary-general and a member of the high council [of the Democratic Party]. He has a lot of things to do. He called me earlier this morning to ask me to join him to prepare a national meeting for the party’s leaders,” Max said.This is not the first time Ibas has skipped House sessions. He has rarely been seen at meetings of House Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs, for which he is a registered member.The leader of the Democratic Party faction at the House, Nurhayati Ali Assegaf, said the House had no procedures on how lawmakers should register themselves for a session.Nurhayati merely pointed out that Ibas was not the only lawmaker who often missed sessions.“Don’t judge him [based on one incident]. What about the other lawmakers who have done the same thing? You have to be fair. Don’t blow this out of proportion just because he’s Ibas,” Nurhayati said.Separately, David Christian, one of Ibas’ aides, said that “there has been misunderstanding” and that Ibas had not flouted any rules.“Mas Ibas attended a plenary session last week. We must also keep in mind that attendance at House plenary meetings is recorded by finger print scanners,” David said in a statement. (Margareth S. Aritonang and Hans David Tampubolon/ The Jakarta Post)
Ibas in a spot over attendance
JAKARTA. After getting away with skipping House of Representatives’ sessions, Democratic Party lawmaker and a son of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Edhie “Ibas” Baskoro Yudhoyono, has finally been caught out for his absence from the House.Ibas’ failure to appear for a plenary session on Tuesday caused an uproar as it blatantly showed his disregard for his House duties.Poor attendance by lawmakers is one of several problems that the House struggles with, in addition to poor legislative performance and overseas visits that are considered unnecessary.It is common practice among lawmakers to sign the list of attendance but remain absent from House sessions.During Tuesday’s plenary meeting, for instance, the list of attendance recorded 327 of the total 560 lawmakers, but no more than 250 lawmakers could be counted in the hall. To improve discipline among lawmakers, the House installed fingerprint scanners worth Rp 279 million (US$29,295) last year to help prevent absenteeism.In spite of the scanners, however, the House’s secretariat general still requires lawmakers to sign the attendance list to improve their discipline.On Tuesday, Ibas duly arrived at the House compound but the presidential guards fetched the list of attendance, allowing him to sign it outside without going through the door where the list is usually signed.Unlike most lawmakers, who enter the plenary hall by the front entrance and sign the attendance list, Ibas was spotted cautiously arriving from behind the plenary room with his aides and presidential guards at around 10:30 a.m., 30 minutes before the session was due to begin.While waiting for the attendance list to be brought to him, Ibas was spotted waiting near an elevator at the left wing of the plenary hall.Ibas left shortly after signing the attendance list and giving a brief response to questions from journalists.Responding to the incident, House ethics committee chairman M. Prakosa said a probe would be launched to determine whether Ibas had broken any rules or regulations.“It’s unethical for him to do something like that. It’s also wrong for anybody to assist him with an irregular registration process. We provide room for members to register themselves. We’ll look further into the matter,” he said.Democratic Party executives defended Ibas, the party’s secretary-general, arguing that he should be allowed to circumvent House rules given his many duties as a senior party official.Democratic Party deputy chairman Max Sopacua, blamed the media for “sensationalizing” their reports of the incident.“I think we don’t need to criticize it too much. He is a secretary-general and a member of the high council [of the Democratic Party]. He has a lot of things to do. He called me earlier this morning to ask me to join him to prepare a national meeting for the party’s leaders,” Max said.This is not the first time Ibas has skipped House sessions. He has rarely been seen at meetings of House Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs, for which he is a registered member.The leader of the Democratic Party faction at the House, Nurhayati Ali Assegaf, said the House had no procedures on how lawmakers should register themselves for a session.Nurhayati merely pointed out that Ibas was not the only lawmaker who often missed sessions.“Don’t judge him [based on one incident]. What about the other lawmakers who have done the same thing? You have to be fair. Don’t blow this out of proportion just because he’s Ibas,” Nurhayati said.Separately, David Christian, one of Ibas’ aides, said that “there has been misunderstanding” and that Ibas had not flouted any rules.“Mas Ibas attended a plenary session last week. We must also keep in mind that attendance at House plenary meetings is recorded by finger print scanners,” David said in a statement. (Margareth S. Aritonang and Hans David Tampubolon/ The Jakarta Post)