STUDENTS DOUBT HOUSE COMMITTEE'S COMMITMENT TO INQUIRY

Jakarta, Dec 5 (ANTARA) - A number of student activists here on Saturday expressed fear that the House inquiry into the Bank Century case could run aground before it reached its goals.

"There is an indication the inquiry will run aground before it reaches its goals," Bambang M Fajar, chairman of the Muslim Student Association (HMI), said here on Saturday.

He said many members of the special inquiry committee were not the initiators of the petition. They even fought to chair the committee while they actually had previously done little to support the handful of legislators who had led the House inquiry initiative since the beginning.

The same concern was also expressed by Heni Lestari, presidium chairwoman of the Women Action Wing of the Indonesian Nationalist Student Movement (GMNI).

She regretted the success of certain political parties in including their cadres in the committee. "Therefore, there is no choice for us, elements of all community movements, other than conducting mass rallies to guard the investigation process of the House committee.

The 30-member House Bank Century Inquiry Committee which was formed on Dec 2 on Friday night elected Idrus Marham of the Golkar Party Faction as its chairman.

The composition of the 30-member inquiry committee was based on the proportionality principle with the number of faction representatives in the committee determined in accordance with the size of the factions concerned.

Based on the proportionality principle, the Democrat Party (PD) is represented in the committee by eight cadres, Golkar by six cadres, the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP) by five, the National Mandate Party and Prosperous Justice Party by three cadres each, the United Development Party (PPP) and National Awakening Party (PKB) by on cadre each.***1***