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t the end of its five-year term on Tuesday, the House of Representatives failed to reach its ambitious legislation target, leaving 121 bills in limbo, most of which would likely be dropped given the absence of a carry-over mechanism for unfinished bills.

In a speech during the final plenary session on Tuesday, House Speaker Marzuki Alie said that the House had endorsed a total of 126 laws, including 69 that had been deemed crucial. Those included, among others, the laws on mass organization; indirect elections of local heads; and regional administration, halal certification; and haj fund management.

'€œThe legislative performance of the House for the 2009-2014 term must not be solely judged by the quantity [of bills] but also by the number of populist laws that we passed,'€ said Marzuki, a politician from the ruling Democratic Party.

Marzuki said that one of the best examples of the populist legislation that was passed was the 2011 law on Social Security Management Agency (BPJS) and the 2014 law on villages.

The outgoing House speaker also said in his speech that special committees tasked with deliberating bills had made a proposal to the new batch of lawmakers '€” which will officially take office on Oct. 1 '€” to resume deliberation of the unfinished bills.

Marzuki, however, said that there was no guarantee the new House would act on the proposal given the absence of a mechanism that would force them into deliberating the unfinished bills.

According to the House Legislation Body (Baleg), the deliberation of one bill can cost between Rp 4 billion (US$341.588) and Rp 7 billion.

On the sidelines of the plenary session, Marzuki, accompanied by his four deputies '€” Golkar Party'€™s Priyo Budi Santoso, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle'€™s (PDI-P) Pramono Anung Wibowo, Prosperous Justice Party'€™s (PKS) Sohibul Iman and National Mandate Party'€™s (PAN) Taufik Kurniawan '€” said that the House had written an accountability report recommending the inclusion of a carry-over mechanism.

'€œWe have included a recommendation to establish such a carry-over mechanism in our accountability report that will be officially handed down to the new House team tomorrow,'€ he said.

Among the bills that will likely languish are amendments to the Criminal Code (KUHP) and the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP); an amendment to the 2001 Oil and Gas Law '€” which was expected to enhance legal certainty in the sector following last year'€™s dissolution of the Upstream Oil and Gas Executive Agency (BP Migas) '€” and an amendment to the banking law.

The list also includes an amendment of the 1999 law on human rights, which was expected to grant subpoena power to the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM); a bill on the rights of indigenous groups; and a bill on people with disabilities.

The lack of a carry-over mechanism has also put the fate of several human rights initiatives, including bills on involuntary disappearances and the international criminal court, whose adoptions had been long overdue, in limbo.

In addition to political tension between lawmakers and the government, Baleg chairman Ignatius Mul-yono highlighted that lawmakers'€™ poor knowledge about legislative processes had led to such a dismal performance.

'€œThe current House [2009-2014 terms] could not work to our top [potential] because most of us don'€™t have the capacity to produce legislation,'€ Mulyono said.

As part of the effort to prepare new lawmakers to carry out their work, the House has collaborated with the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) to provide training for lawmakers.

'€œWe hope that the new House will be better equipped,'€ said Mulyono of the Democrats, who failed to get reelected in the April 9th legislative election.