President Jokowi Lauds House Of Representatives

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has praised the House of Representatives (DPR), which upholds the mandate of the 1945 Constitution, for carrying out legislative, budgetary, and supervisory functions.

However, in running its legislative functions, the president pointed out that the most important aspect was not how many bills were passed into law, but their quality and how beneficial are they for the people.

In his State of the Nation Address before the annual session of the People's Consultative Assembly here on Tuesday to mark the 71st anniversary of Indonesia's Independence, President Widodo noted that in 2016, the DPR and government have formulated 10 bills and passed them into laws.

These include the Law on Public Housing Savings, Law on Tax Amnesty to support source of state revenue, and Law on Protection and Empowerment of Fishermen, Fish Farming, and Salt Farmers.

"The Law on Protection and Empowerment of Fishermen, Fish Farming, and Salt Farmers is part of the government's efforts to improve the welfare of fishermen in the maritime sector," the head of state remarked.

He stated that with regard to the implementation of the budget, the DPR and government were currently discussing a Bill on the State Budget for the 2017 Fiscal Year and the Bill on Accountability for the implementation of the State Budget in 2015.

"The DPR and government are committed to ensuring that the 2017 budget is carefully structured for the welfare of the people," the head of state noted.

According to the president, the budget must follow the program priorities and should no longer simply be divided equally among the work units.

Furthermore, with regard to implementing the supervisory function, the DPR has pushed for optimizing the Supreme Audit Board and the roles of the commission and members of the board.

In addition, the DPR has conducted a fit and proper test on state officials proposed by the government. (WDY)