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Hanesan formasaun ba governasaun foun ne’ebé la’o daudauk, Fundasaun Mahein (FM) hakarak salienta importansia kona-bá politíku opozisaun ne’e. Depois tinan lima (5) Timor-Leste laiha politíku opozisaun. Rezultadu eleisaun parlamentu iha fulan Jullu daudauk ne’e katak orgaun lejislativu foun ne’e sei iha opozisaun ida. Iha ne’ebé involve partidu balun, plurálizmu foun ida ne’e hanesan pasu importante ida ba Timor-Leste nia demokrasia ne’ebé sei nurak. FM aproveita tempu ne’e hodi salienta katak opozisaun tenke ativu, krítiku no konstrutivu.
Demokrasia ne’ebé efetivu depende ba ezistensia husi kontrolu no ekilibru sira, ne’ebé garante katak desizaun sira ne’ebé halo ho legál no la’os husi lei ne’ebé naran-naran deit. FM espera katak durante tinan haat ba ohin ne’e opozisaun no sosiedade sivil sira bele hein governu nia responsabilidade no bele promove desizaun politíka ne’ebé efetivu. Importante liu mak opozisaun tenke prioriza interese nasional, hodi nune’e governu bele dezenvolve polítika sira ne’ebé fó benefisiu ba povu Timor-Leste tomak.
Hodi suporta obetivu ida ne’e, FM espera ho asaun hanesan fontes informasaun ba membru parlamentu opozisaun foun ne’e. FM mos hakarak emprega iha parte governu nian hodi nune’e bele fó kontribuisaun ne’ebé konstrutivu ba orgaun lejislasaun foun ne’e. Ho ida ne’e, FM espera sei hametin parseiru ne’ebé promove desizaun polítika ne’ebé professional no efetivu liga ho setor seguransa no asuntu estranjeru.
Especsifíkamente, FM espera sei kontribui ba dezenvolvimentu politika kona-ba asuntu fronteira ka maritima, terorizmu nomos krimi transnasional sira seluk. FM fiar katak sei fo hanoin ne’ebe diak kona-bá orsamentu setor seguransa nian.
FM koko atu promove kooperasaun entre Forsa Defeza Timor-Leste (F-FDTL) no parseru Internasional sira seluk. Uluk liu, Timor-Leste tenke koopera ho nasaun sira ne’ebé ligasaun diak ho Timor-Leste liu husi jeografia no historia, liu-liu Australia, Indonesia nomos nasaun CPLP sira. Timor-Leste mos tenke inklui iha estratéjia kooperasaun ho nasaun sira global no rejional ne’ebé mak importante no iha poder hanesan Estadus Unidos da Amerika, China, UK no nasaun membru ASEAN sira.
Iha nivel implementasaun, FM hakarak atu diskute servisu PNTL nian ho membru parlamentu foun no Ministru Interior, defeza, asuntu estranjeru no finansa. FM hakarak uza diskusaun hirak ne’e hodi hasa’e akuntabilidade iha parlamentu foun mai ne’e.
Liga ho akuntabilidade ne’e, FM ho lian maka’as kondena desizaun sira dadaun ne’e iha ne’ebé membru parlamentu sira hetan tan ona kareta foun ba sira. Sosa kareta hirak ne’e posibilidade ba membru parlamentu sira bainhira atu tun ona sei sai hanesan sira nia kareta privadu. Uza sala rekursu estadu nian ne’e hatudu katak membru parlamentu sira hakarak hariku sira-nia an duke fó benefisiu ba povu.
Enkuantu, públiku lasimu relatoriu kona-bá tranzisaun poder entre parlamentu sira, FM rekoñese kona-bá uza sala osan povu nian ida ne’e wainhira halo kontrolu ba orsamentu estadu 2017 nian. kareta ida-idak ho folin $65.000. Pasu ida ne’e representa korupsaun ne’ebé legál tamba polítiku sira uza sira nia poder hodi lejítimu sira nia kanten ne’ebé laiha moe.
Foka mos ba viazen membru parlamentu sira nian ba estranjeru ne’ebé konsidera laiha responsabilidade, enkuantu objetivu husi viazen ne’e atu halo estudu komparativu, membru parlamentu sira ne’e halo fali viazen ne’e hodi halo kompras iha nasaun sira ne’ebé diak. Rezultadu mak polítiku barak mak sempre halo viazen ba rai liur duke vizita ba sira nia munisipiu rasik.
Ho korupsaun ida ne’ebé mak laiha moe ne’e no partikularmente akuzasaun kona-bá korupsaun ne’ebé seriu hasoru portavos parlamentu nian, governu tenke imediata hasai imunidade legál membru parlamentu sira nian sekarik membru parlamentu sira komete krimi, sira lamerese asumi kargu públiku no tenke hasoru justisa. Parlamentu foun mai ne’e tenke hatudu komitmentu tuir regulamentu no lei hodi hasai umanidade no haforsa sansaun ba koruptor sira. Karik membru parlamentu sira kontinua halo korupsaun sira sei hatoman an ho kustume ne’ebé naok ba jerasaun lideransa Timoroan tuir mai.
Membru parlamentu Timor-Leste nian mos tenke hetan informsaun barak hanesan dadauk ne’e. Parlamentu agora ne’e sofre hela tamba menus debate ne’ebé indika katak membru parlamentu sira mak la aprende kona-bá lei foun sira no konfia liu fali sira nia konselleru Portugues sira. Enkuantu peskizador sira marka presensa iha parlamentu. Membru parlamentu sira dalabarak la le’e relatoriu ne’ebé sira produs. Ignoransia no laiha responsabilidade sei hami’is konfiansa husi Timoroan ba sira hanesan representante povu.
Membru parlamentu sira tenke kontinua hasa’e sira nia kapasidade hodi servi povu liu husi sira nia edukasaun kona-bá problema ema bai-bain no maneira ne’ebé posibilidade bele resolve. Kestaun ne’e persiza involvimentu iha kultura le’e no aprende ida hodi nune’e bele servi efetivu ba komunidade sira, membru parlamentu sira tenke hasa’e sira nia matenek ba material ne’ebé sira halo diskusaun ba.
Edukasaun ba an rasik ne’e tenke akompaña esforsu luan ida hodi hasoru desizaun polítika ne’ebé efetivu liu. Durante parlamentu ikus ne’e, membru parlamentu sira hasai lei ho neineik no la efisiente ezatu iha kazu sira ne’ebé diretamente benefisia ba sira nia an. Ezemplu, lei kona-bá anti-korupsaun ne’ebé importante liu mos persija tinan barak. Membru parlamentu sira lagasta sira nia tempu hodi aprova aumentu ba sira nia pensaun rasik. Hahalok servi ba an rasik ne’e hatudu katak sira hanoin benefisia ba sira nia an duke representa povu. karik sira nafatin iha pozisaun sira tenke produs rezultadu no hametin reputasaun ba honestidade no efikasia.
Alende ne’e, membru parlamentu sira tenke ko’alia ho povu, la’os tamba sira nia partidu tan ne’e membru parlamentu sira tenke halo debate kona-bá lei sira ho diak lasees husi parte ne’ebé mak hato’o ba. Nune’e mos sira tenke rezeita lei sira ne’ebé aat mezmu sira nia partidu mak hato’o proposta. Ba sira nia parte, polítiku sira tenke para atensaun ba individual sira ne’ebé la efetivu iha parlamentu.
Ikus liu, parlamentu tenke komesa forma ezbosu lei sira iha Tetun. Pasu ida ne’e importante tebes hodi bele hasa’e partisiapasaun públiku iha prosesu lejislativu. Daudauk ne’e esbosu lei sira iha lian Portugues signifika ema bele komprende dala ida deit antes sira aprova. Uza lingua portugues ne’e kauza dependensia ba iha konselleru Portugues sira tamba ne’e ema estranjeru balun mak fó hanoin barak kona-bá sistema lei Timor-Leste duke Timoroan rasik.
Konselleru internasional hirak ne’e jeralmente menus komprensaun polítika no kultura Timor-Leste nian, signifika katak polítiku sira tenke fó servisu ba konselleru hirak ne’e hodi koñese diak liu nasaun ne’e. Alende ne’e konselleru hirak ne’e tenke konvoka peskiza ne’ebé klean kona-bá Timor-Leste espesifikamente envesde kopia lei sira husi Portugal, Angola ka Mosambique. Tamba influensia konselleru estranjeru nian, lei sira ne’ebé aprova husi parlamentu dala barak la relevante ho moris 70% Timoroan sira ne’ebé hela iha area rurais. Lei hirak ne’e la efetifu liu tan ne’e dala barak akontese tinan ida ka rua antes halo revizaun. Konselleru estranjeru ne’ebé hanesan depois halo tan revizaun, foka liu ba iha siklu ne’ebé halo tahan an ba nafatin. Envezde sistema agora dadauk ne’e, parlamentu tenke fó servisu ba konselleru sira ho informasaun, esbosu lei sira iha Tetun no publikasaun sira hotu hamutuk antes aprova.
New Political Opposition Should Be Active, Honest, And Informed
As the new government continues to take shape, Fundasaun Mahein (FM) wants to emphasize the importance of a political opposition. After five years in which Timor-Leste lacked an opposition party, the results of the July parliamentary election revealed that the new legislature will include an opposition. Regardless of which specific parties are involved, this new pluralism represents an important step forward for Timor-Leste’s young democracy. FM wants to take advantage of the occasion to emphasize that the opposition should be active, critical, and constructive.
An effective democracy relies on the existence of checks and balances, which ensure that decisions are made legally and not by arbitrary decree. FM hopes that during the next four years the opposition and civil society can hold the government accountable and thereby promote effective policymaker. Above all, the opposition must prioritize the national interest, so that the government develops policies that benefit all of Timor-Leste’s people.
In order to support this goal, FM hopes to act as a source of information for the new opposition MPs. FM also wants to engage with the governing parties in order to make constructive contributions to new legislation. By doing so, FM hopes to forge partnerships that will promote professional and effective policymaker concerning the security sector and foreign affairs.
Specifically, FM hopes to contribute to the development of policy around border/maritime issues, terrorism, and other transnational crime. FM also believes it can provide useful insights about the security sector’s budget.
FM seeks to promote defense cooperation between the Timor-Leste Defense Forces (FDTL) and various international partners. First of all, Timor-Leste should cooperate with nations bound to Timor-Leste by shared geography and history, specifically Australia, Indonesia, and the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries). Timor-Leste should also engage in strategic cooperation with important global and regional powers such as the USA, China, the UK, and ASEAN member countries.
On the level of implementation, FM intends to discuss the PNTL’s performance with the new MPs and the ministers of the interior, defense, foreign affairs, and finance. FM intends to use these discussions to boost accountability in the new parliament.
With regard to accountability, FM unequivocally condemns the recent decision by which the MPs have obtained a new fleet of car for themselves. This purchase allows the outgoing MPs to retain their state cars as private vehicles. This deplorable misuse of state resources reveals that MPs care more about enriching themselves than about benefiting the people.
While the public has received no reports about the transition of power between parliaments, FM learned about this misuse of public money when examining the 2017 state budget. Each vehicle costs $65,000. This step represents legalized corruption, in which politicians use their power to legitimate their shameless greed.
MPs’ trips abroad also highlight their greed and irresponsibility. While the ostensible purpose of these trips is to conduct comparative studies, the MPs in fact use these trips to go on state-funded shopping sprees. As a result, many politicians travel to foreign countries more often than they visit their own constituencies in Timor-Leste’s districts.
Given this shameless corruption—and particularly in light of serious corruption accusations against the speaker of parliament—the government should immediately remove MPs’ legal immunity. If MPs commit crimes, they are clearly unfit for public office and should face justice. The incoming parliament should demonstrate its commitment to the rule of law by removing immunity and strengthening penalties for corruption. If MPs continue their institutionalized corruption, they will pass on a culture of legalized thievery to the next generation of Timor-Leste’s leaders.
Timor-Leste’s MPs should also be more informed than they currently are. The parliament currently suffers from a woeful lack of debate, which indicates that MPs do not learn about new legislation and instead rely on their predominantly Portuguese advisors. While researchers are present in parliament, the MPs frequently do not read the reports they produce. This ignorance and irresponsibility erodes the Timorese people’s trust in their representatives.
MPs should constantly improve their capacity to serve the people by educating themselves about ordinary people’s problems and possible ways to solve them. This requires engaging in a culture of reading and learning. In order to effectively serve the public, MPs must develop expertise on the subjects they discuss.
This self-education should accompany a broader effort towards more effective policymaking. During the last parliamentary term, the MPs passed legislation slowly and inefficiently except in cases where it directly benefited themselves. For example, while crucial anticorruption legislation took years to pass, the MPs wasted no time approving an increase in their own pensions. This self-serving attitude reveals that for most MPs parliament is more about gaining status than representing the people. If they want to remain in office, MPs will have to produce results and uphold reputations for honesty and efficacy.
In addition, MPs should speak for the people, not for their party. Consequently, MPs should debate all good laws, regardless of which party proposes them. Similarly, they should reject every bad law, even if their own party has proposed it. For their part, political parties should stop keeping ineffective individuals in parliament.
Lastly, parliament should begin drafting laws in Tetun. This step is crucial for enabling genuine public participation in the legislative process. Currently, the drafting of the laws in Portuguese means that people can only understand them once they’ve already been approved. This use of the Portuguese language also leads to dependence on Portuguese advisors, so that a handful of foreigners have more input on Timor-Leste’s legal system than the Timorese people themselves.
These foreign advisors generally lack an adequate understanding of Timorese politics and culture, meaning that politicians should employ advisors who are more familiar with the country. Furthermore, these advisors should conduct in-depth research about Timor-Leste specifically, instead of just copying legislation from Portugal, Angola, or Mozambique. Due to foreign advisors’ influence, the laws passed by parliament are often irrelevant to the lives of the 70% of Timorese who live in rural areas. These laws are so ineffective that they frequently only last one or two years before requiring revisions. The same foreign advisors then conduct the revisions, leading to a self-perpetuating cycle. Instead of the current system, the parliament should employ informed advisors, draft laws in Tetun, and publicize them thoroughly before approval.
