Restructuring the Legislative Institution to Promote Equitable National Development

This study examines the institutional design of Indonesia’s representative bodies - the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI) and the Regional Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia (DPD RI) - with particular attention to their constitutional status, functions, and competences within Indonesia’s democratic constitutional framework. Using a doctrinal (normative juridical) legal research method, the study analyzes relevant constitutional provisions, statutory regulations, judicial decisions, and constitutional doctrines governing Indonesia’s bicameral legislature. The findings reveal structural and functional deficiencies within Indonesia’s representative system that potentially undermine legislative effectiveness and equitable national development. These deficiencies include the asymmetrical distribution of legislative authority between the two chambers, overlapping competences, and procedural constraints that significantly restrict the DPD RI’s substantive participation in the lawmaking process. Such institutional imbalances weaken the system of checks and balances envisioned in a democratic constitutional state and limit the effectiveness of bicameralism as a mechanism for territorial representation. In response, this study proposes a strategic restructuring of Indonesia’s representative institutions aimed at strengthening democratic accountability and institutional equilibrium. The proposed reforms consist of two principal measures: (1) permitting independent (non-party-affiliated) candidacy for membership in the DPR RI in order to broaden political inclusion and enhance representational diversity; and (2) establishing functional and authority parity between the DPR RI and the DPD RI to reinforce genuine bicameralism and improve legislative coherence. The study concludes that such reforms are essential to enhancing democratic representation, consolidating checks and balances, and fostering inclusive and sustainable national development in Indonesia.