REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) politician Rieke Diah Pitaloka on early Thursday morning expressed regret over the election process of the leaders of the House of Representatives (DPR) and called it undemocratic.
"The internal rules of the elections have several problems, and the problem is not only about who will lead the DPR," Rieke said at the Parliament building here.
She said her party faction was not given a chance to put forward its aspirations during the DPR plenary session to elect the leaders of the DPR.
"We are not new in the House. It is true that most of us are young, yet we understand the plenary is the highest forum. Lobbying is allowed, but decisions should be made in the plenary. This is constitutional. In the plenary, every person has the right to speak," she stated.
Rieke claimed that during the plenary to elect the DPR leaders for the 2014-19 term, the microphone on her seat did not function, preventing her from raising her opinion.
"How could I voice my concerns if the microphone on my chair remained off?" she asked.
She noted that the people of Indonesia were smart and understood what kind of people should lead the DPR.
Early on Thursday, the House plenary elected its leaders. Setya Novanto of the Golkar faction was elected as the House Speaker, while four deputy chairmanship posts were filled by Fadli Zon of the Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), Agus Hermanto of the Democratic Party, Taufik Kurniawan of the National Mandate Party, and Fahri Hamzah of the Prosperous Justice Party.
The plenary session decided the members for the House leadership posts despite fierce debates between the politicians representing the Red-and-White Coalition of political parties and their rivals from the PDIP-backed coalition.
The members of parliament representing the PDIP, the National Democrat Party, the National Awakening Party and the People's Conscience Party walked out during the House leadership elections.
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