A team of 10 legislators from the House of Representatives Commission III on law are conducting a comparative study in London, but several of their colleagues in Indonesia suspect this is an excuse for holiday at the state’s expense.
The team is led by the Golkar Party’s Azis Syamsuddin, who is also one of the commission’s deputy chairmen. Other group members include Adang Daradjatun from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Ahmad Yani from the United Development Party (PPP) and Desmond J. Mahesa from the Greater Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra).
The group is staying at the Marriott Hotel London, with all expenses paid by the state.
On Wednesday, Golkar’s Bambang Soesatyo, who is not on the team, said the legislative work component of most field trips was usually very brief.
“Honestly, most field trips only require around one or two hours’ work. Most of the time is spent sightseeing,” Bambang said.
Commission III member Didi Irawadi from the Democratic Party said he also heard rumors that the team planned to visit various landmarks as part of the comparative study trip.
“I heard that some of them wanted to go shopping and visit the grave of Lady Diana,” Didi said.
However, Didi said that if the rumors were true he also expected his colleagues to bring home concrete results from their field trip.
The widely criticized overseas trip, from Sept. 21 to Sept. 26, is being taken as part of the commission’s deliberation of an immigration bill.
However, based on the team’s itinerary, during the six-day field trip, only two days (Sept. 23 and Sept. 24) have been allocated for comparative studies. On Sept. 23, the legislators will meet with officials at the British Law Ministry and Domestic Affairs ministry, while on Sept. 24 they will meet with members of the Border Agency.
A source, opting to remain anonymous, said there was a more detailed unofficial schedule.
The unofficial schedule includes a shopping day at London’s Harrods department store, taking pictures at Trafalgar Square and Lady Diana’s tomb and, last but not least, attending a fashion tour with visits to Burberry and Calvin Klein boutiques, the source said.
Another source said it was common practice for lawmakers to issue two different schedules for their overseas trips.
“One is the normative kind, which is to be exposed to the media, while the other is only made available to legislators themselves,” he said.
Commission chairman Benny Kabur Harman from the Democratic Party denied reports that legislators had more fun while conducting comparative studies overseas.
The field trip in London was filled with meetings regarding immigration issues, he said. However, it was acceptable for legislators to visit famous boutiques in their spare time, he said.
