“The Dutch Legacy in the Indonesian Parliament”

Abstract

th century; Parliamentary procedure Abstract The Indonesian parliament, the DPR, today presents its similar characteristics as the Dutch parliament in the 19 th century. The historical trajectories show that when establishing the core of the parliament institution, the founding fathers copied what the colonial government had been practiced, and maintained during the authoritarian regime in Indonesia, accordingly the Dutch legacy lingered. Consequently, in the wave of democratic era, after the fall of the authoritarian president, the same institution should have adapted itself into a more democratic institution, but remained weak due to its outdated characteristics. This paper shows the historical aspects of the DPR and the lingered Dutch legacy to understand the DPR's tradition. This paper concludes that the Indonesian parliament, DPR, is regarded more as a legislative body, instead as a parliament and a deliberative assembly.