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Lawmakers prepare to put PDI-P into House leadership
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House of the people: Lawmakers gather in the House of Representatives' main hall for a plenary meeting. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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o:p>After intensive lobbying, political parties have finally agreed to amend a law regulating the legislative institution, known as the MD3 Law, to pave the way for the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to secure a leadership seat in the House of Representatives.
“We have agreed to revise the MD3 Law. We will include the revision in the priority bills that the House aims to pass into law by next year,” House Legislative Body (Baleg) deputy chairman Firman Subagyo told reporters on Tuesday after a closed-door meeting with fellow lawmakers to discuss the matter.
The Golkar Party politician added that Baleg would share the decision with Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Hamonangan Laoly in a hearing on Wednesday to secure government approval for the plan.
The revision of the 2014 MD3 Law is expected to provide a legal basis for the PDI-P to install its lawmakers as one of deputy speakers in the House and the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR).
The planned revision is reportedly a part of a deal the PDI-P made in exchange for its support of the recent return of Golkar chairman Setya Novanto as House speaker after he was forced to resign late last year over alleged ethical misconduct.
The existing MD3 law was passed shortly after the 2014 presidential election when the country saw fierce competition between two political coalitions: the Great Indonesian Coalition (KIH) that supported president-elect Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and the opposition Red-and-White Coalition (KMP) that supported rival Prabowo Subianto.
The law stipulates that candidates for the House leadership, which consists of one speaker and four deputy speakers, should be endorsed in one package by a coalition of political parties. The KMP’s package led by Novanto won the vote. (hwa)
