The House of Representatives, or the House of Political Parties?

By Mhd. Fadly Siregar, S.H.

26 Oct 2024 10:11 WIB 26 October 2024 10:11 WIB 5 minutes reading time: 5 minutes 47 read

This article discusses the reality of the bias of members of the DPR in Indonesia and the political behavior of parties

The House of Representatives, or the House of Political Parties?

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Legal Literacy - The house of representatives as an institution that represents the aspirations of the people towards the government (executive) should act and behave according to the wishes of the people. The DPR should be a natural “opposition” to the government, not “friends” with the government. If the DPR is on one side with the government, then who acts as the supervisor of the government?. Shouldn't the DPR be a filter on all government policies? If the DPR and the government are in the same camp, then the policies and laws that are born may not be based on the interests of the people, but the interests of a handful of rulers.

Political Reality in Indonesia

The political phenomenon that occurs in Indonesia is when political parties enter the ruling government (coalition), the members of these political parties, whether they are serving in the executive or legislative, or are just members, will support and defend any policies issued by the government (in this case the president). For example, in 2019 when there was a competition for RI 1 between Prabowo Subianto and Joko Widodo, we could all see how heated the debate was between members of the Gerindra party and members of the PDIP party in the media, both television and social media. It is not uncommon for insults, insults and so on to occur between the two camps.

However, after Prabowo joined Jokowi's government and was assigned to hold the position of Minister of Defense, suddenly the politicians of the Gerindra party were no longer “fierce” towards Jokowi's government, both on social media and in parliament. They (Gerindra) even turned into supporters of Jokowi's policies, we can see this in various media when the speakers come from the Gerindra party.

The event above is just an example that politicians (especially the DPR RI) do not act and behave based on the interests of the people, but the interests of political parties. When political parties are outside the government, they become the opposition, when they enter the government they suddenly form a coalition and agree with government policies.

Political parties in Indonesia have lost their identity, the position of political parties in Indonesia is only based on which camp they are in, based on whether the political party is outside or inside the government. If the political party is in the government, then it becomes pro-government and its policies. Likewise, if a political party is outside the government, then it becomes against the government. The implication is that members of the DPR RI will be in line with their party's attitude. If not, the risk of dismissal or PAW will await.