Secretary General Of DPR: Microphone Turns Off After 5 Minutes According To Rules Of Conduct

Photo via Secretariat General of DPR

JAKARTA - The Secretary General of the DPR RI, Indra Iskandar, explained that the microphone used for members of the DPR RI in the Plenary Session Room, Nusantara I Building, was set to automatically turn off after being on for 5 minutes.

According to him, this arrangement is in accordance with the maximum speech time limit given to members of the DPR, while limiting the duration of the plenary session during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"So after pressing, the mic will turn on, then it will turn off automatically after 5 minutes," said Indra, Wednesday, May 25.

Indra explained that it was related to the death of the microphone of a member of the DPR PKS faction, Amin Ak, during the DPR plenary session yesterday.

Indra explained that this was in accordance with the rules contained in Article 256 paragraph 6. In this article, each member was allowed to speak and ask questions for a maximum of five minutes.

"The microphone is regulated based on this Rule of Law article 256 paragraph 6, five minutes automatically turns off. So that's indeed the limit in the Standing Order," he said in a written statement.

"I think from a technical point of view, the Secretariat General needs to explain the proportion, as in the past, there really isn't anything to do with death or death, no. Yesterday the interruption continued, but every five minutes the mic would automatically turn off," he continued.

However, said Indra, the microphone can be turned on again after it turns off automatically.

"It sounds like Mr. Amin can turn the mic back on after a short shutdown," said Indra.

Indra further explained, the maximum time limit for the DPR RI Plenary Session during the pandemic is 2 hours and 30 minutes. Therefore, the leadership of the DPR, who is in charge of leading the session, is responsible for avoiding the deadline as much as possible.

"In yesterday's plenary session, it was even 3 hours, meaning that it was more than 30 minutes from the stipulation, so there is a need for the chairman of the session to immediately close the trial," said Indra.

Regarding interruptions in the plenary session, said Indra, members of the DPR RI were given the opportunity to express opinions in accordance with the agenda of the ongoing plenary session.

"This has become an agreement among the members of the Council themselves," said Indra.

To note, a member of the DPR PKS faction, Amin Ak, conveyed an interruption related to LGBT legal issues at the end of the plenary session. Though there is no plenary session agenda related to this.

In the video footage that was circulated, it was also not seen that the chairperson of the trial turned off the microphone from the chair's desk.

"So it's not true that there are DPR leaders who turn off the microphone," said Indra.