VZCZCXRO0105
OO RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHJA #1653/01 2751245
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 021245Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3463
INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001653 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP 
NSC FOR D. WALTON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM ID
SUBJECT: NEW INDONESIAN PARLIAMENT FACES HIGH EXPECTATIONS 
 
REF: JAKARTA 1597 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1.    (SBU) SUMMARY:  With President Susilo Bambang 
Yudhoyono's (SBY) Democratic Party (PD) and its coalition 
partners firmly in control of the newly inaugurated 
parliament, President Yudhoyono has the consensus government 
he's been seeking.  Given the President's solid majority, 
many analysts expect that he will be able to easily achieve 
his legislative goals.  Some political pundits have expressed 
concerns that the new legislature may be too compliant, while 
 others argue that this parliament will not be a rubber stamp 
for SBY.  75 percent of the incoming MPs are first time 
members, who are younger and better educated than their 
predecessors.  Although the devastating September 30 
earthquake in Sumatra dampened the October 1 inauguration 
ceremonies, there was nonetheless a sense of high 
expectations as the new legislators stepped in to improve the 
image and performance of Parliament. END SUMMARY. 
 
NEW LEGISLATURE INAUGURATED 
 
¶2.  (U) On October 1 and 2, the new members of the Indonesian 
legislature were sworn into office for a five year term of 
office.  The legislature is divided into three distinct 
bodies: the People's Representative Assembly (DPR), the 
Regional Representatives Assembly (DPD), and the People's 
Consultative Assembly (MPR).  The MPR is comprised of the DPR 
and the DPD.  The DPR has 560 members (10 more than in 2004 
due to the creation of new regions) and is the more powerful 
of the two houses since its members draft and pass laws in 
conjunction with the executive branch.  The DPD has 132 
members, four from each of the 33 provinces, and does not 
create or vote on legislation.  It provides consultations on 
legislation dealing with regional issues. 
 
FRESH FACES: A BRAND NEW PARLIAMENT 
 
¶3.  (U) About 75 percent of the DPR are first time members. 
It is expected that this DPR will be more responsive to 
constituents' concerns, because for the first time voters 
directly elected their representatives. (Note: In the past 
political parties were on the ballot rather than candidates.) 
 According to the Indonesian Parliamentary Watchdog Group 
(Formappi), the members are younger and more educated than 
the 2004 DPR--91 percent of the members are 
university-educated as compared to 80 percent in 2004). 
There are more women -- 17 percent, up from 11 percent in 
¶2004.  The majority of the members are business people (about 
46 percent), academics, and professionals.  A number of 
parties ran actors and models, with no political or 
legislative experience, as candidates. 
 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The most crucial difference between this Parliament 
and its predecessor is that due to the Democratic Party's 
dominance, this DPR is expected to be more supportive of the 
government's policies.  In the outgoing parliament the 
Democratic Party controlled only 10 percent of the seats 
compared to nearly 30 percent now (168 of the 560 seats). 
With its coalition partners, the four largest 
Islamic-oriented parties, PD controls 56 percent of the 
seats.  Speculation abounds about whether the current 
opposition parties, Golkar and PDI-P, will join the ruling 
coalition. If they do, the two small unaligned parties will 
be virtually powerless. With no effective opposition, some 
analysts are concerned that there may be a movement back to 
the authoritarian rule of the Suharto regime.  On the other 
hand, given the make up of the incoming MPs, most agree that 
this Parliament will not be a rubber stamp for SBY's 
proposals. 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  The outgoing 2004 DPR, the second democratically 
elected Parliament in Indonesian history, limped to a finish 
September 30.  The press and NGOs have criticized the DPR for 
only reaching 25 percent of its targeted legislative output 
and for passing a spate of half-baked laws in poorly attended 
sessions in its final days.  Many previous laws were struck 
down by the Constitutional Court and observers expect some of 
the new last-minute laws to face the same fate. Allegations 
of misdoing also plagued the 2004 DPR.  At a September 30 
farewell dinner for the outgoing DPR members, a participant 
noted with relief that "at least we are finishing without any 
scandals-- no pending investigations by the corruption 
commission."  During the previous legislative session, nine 
 
JAKARTA 00001653  002 OF 002 
 
 
DPR members were convicted of graft and several others were 
investigated.  In 2009, Transparency International Indonesia 
ranked the DPR as the most corrupt institution in Indonesia. 
Indo Barometer, a polling agency, indicated that only 51 
percent of the respondents were satisfied with the DPR but 90 
percent were happy with President Yudhoyono. 
 
NEW HOUSE FACES HIGH EXPECTATIONS 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Expectations are high that the new, well educated 
legislators will improve the image and performance of the DPR 
as an institution.  It remains to be seen however, whether 
the new members will fall victim to the culture of money 
politics.  Many of incoming members paid dearly for their 
campaigns and, for some, the temptation to recoup those 
expenses may be tempting.  Political leadership and 
structures in the legislature will be determined in the 
coming weeks.  Many are now waiting for the new slate of 
ministers to be announced as parties trade political support 
for leadership positions. 
OSIUS