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Dynasties, lack of opposition paint bleak House picture
Dozens of lawmakers with family ties to incumbent politicians and public officials and hundreds of reelected incumbents of "poorly-performing" House of Representatives members may hinder the legislative body's performance in the next five years, according to findings by the Indonesian Parliament Watch (Formappi).
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Lawmakers attend a House of Representatives plenary session on Sept. 19, 2024, at the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta. (Antara/Dhemas Reviyanto)
G
rowing political dynasties and a lack of opposition voices among elected lawmakers has raised concerns that there will be dysfunctional legislative oversight of the administration of president-elect Prabowo Subianto in the next five years.
Next Tuesday, 580 newly elected members of the House of Representatives will be sworn into office, with familiar faces and senior politicians reclaiming more than half of the legislative seats, according to a review on the elected lawmakers’ list by Indonesian Parliament Watch (Formappi).
The group looked at each politician’s profile based on data gathered by the General Elections Commission (KPU) since they registered their candidacy for the February election. But some profiles were incomplete, keeping the researchers from further analyzing the data.
The review, the results of which were published on Tuesday, found that 79 lawmakers are part of political dynasties, with kinship relations with incumbent politicians and public officials.
Among them are spouses, such as Gerindra Party secretary-general Ahmad Muzani and his wife Himmatul Aliyah, both of whom have been lawmakers for more than five years.
Another couple are musicians Ahmad Dhani and Mulan Jameela, also from Gerindra. While Mulan has been a member of the House since 2019, the 2024 period will be the first term for Ahmad as a lawmaker.
Read also: House underperforming, overreaching: Critics
