Maruarar Sirait from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Lily Wahid from the National Awakening Party (PKB), the Golkar Party’s Bambang Soesatyo, Akbar Faisal from the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura), and Desmond J. Mahesa from the Greater Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra) signed Tuesday a petition requesting the House of Representatives to exercise their initiative right to ask the Constitutional Court to unseat the Vice President.

“I believe there will be at least 100 legislators who will sign this petition,” Maruarar told reporters after signing the petition.

The petition is the latest follow-up on the House’s investigation into the November 2008 bailout. In early March, the House held a vote that found the policy was flawed and recommended legal measures against those responsible, including Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and then Bank Indonesia governor Boediono.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has repeatedly defended the bailout and claimed responsibility for the policy, which he said was made for the good of the country’s banking sector in the midst of the global crisis.

Golkar lawmaker Bambang Susatyo said the petitioners were aware of a possible move by Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party to block any House bid for the impeachment. According to the 2009 law on the composition of legislative bodies, a House plenary to debate an impeachment process needs attendance of at least 25 percent of the lawmakers.

The Democratic Party secures 26 percent of the House seats and will need only to skip the plenary to foil the move.

Bambang said he and some other legislators had officially filed a judicial review of the law with the Constitutional Court to dispose of the legal barrier.

“We demand the minimum attendance be increased to at least 50 percent plus one legislator for the plenary session to be able to commence,” he said.

Andi Rahmat from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) backed the efforts of Bambang and his colleagues to seek a review of the law.

“Based on legal standing, they have the right to do so, even though they were not the lawmakers who endorsed the law,” Andi said.

Anticorruption activists, who proposed that the House lawmakers sign the petition, said there was no more reason for the House to delay exercising its right to initiate an impeachment.

“The policy on Bank Century has been deemed flawed by two state institutions — the Supreme Audit Agency [BPK] and the House. So, it makes sense for the House to use its constitutional right to raise a political opinion [to initiate impeachment],” Adhie Massardi from the Clean Indonesia Movement (GIB) said.

Ray Rangkuti and Effendi Gazali from the Coalition of Anticorruption Civil Society said impeachment was the only viable solution to put an end to the protracted controversy over the bailout case.

Set in motion: Indonesia Democratic Party for Struggle lawmaker Maruarar Sirait (center) pens his signature to join an initiative of impeachment against Vice President Boediono over the Bank Century bailout. Activists Effendi Gazali (left) and Ray Rangkuti (second left), lawmaker Lily Wahid from the National Awakening Party (second right) and Golkar Party lawmaker Bambang Soesatyo joined the move at the House of Representatives on Tuesday. JP/Wendra Ajistyatama

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