The House Democracy Partnership (HDP) is a bipartisan commission of the U.S. House of Representatives that works directly with over 20 partner parliaments around the world to support the development of effective, independent, and responsive legislatures. HDP is proudly implemented by the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI).     

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What parliament and chamber are you a staff member of? 

Parliamentary Leadership  

What HDP program did you participate in? 

• Technical Assistance Consultancy
• Citizen Engagement and Leveraging CSO Groups for Responsive Lawmaking 

What do you want other people to know about your country?  

Indonesia will always be a strong supporter of democracy and a strong supporter of diversity and gotong royong (cooperation). In essence we highly value openness, good governance and inclusivity. We are always motivated to promote reforms and innovation.  

Why did you decide to become a staff member in parliament? 

I was assigned to the open parliament program as an extension of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative in Indonesia. I previously worked at the Open Government Indonesia (OGI) Secretariate under the Ministry of Development Planning and the Executive Office of the President (KSP). 

Looking back on the HDP program, what was most impactful for you? 

The different practices of parliamentary engagement and MPs’ innovative approaches to engaging their constituents. The juxtaposition of political and campaign systems between the U.S. and Indonesia are very interesting as well in helping us analyze policy and mechanisms that we could improve in our parliament.  

How are you applying your experience from the HDP mission to your role as staff? 

• Disseminating and discussing the lessons to our supervisor and parliamentary monitoring organization (PMO). 
• Brainstorming mechanisms and programs that might improve parliamentary engagement practices.  
• Strengthening advocacy for reforms.  

What information, if any, that you gained through the HDP program have you shared with fellow staff members in parliament? 

• The best practices of parliamentary engagement with the public and civil society organizations (CSOs), and lobbying practices.  
• Congressional procedures, mechanisms, policies, and governance, especially in collecting citizens’ feedback and conducting post legislative scrutiny. 

What advice would you give to new parliamentary staff? 

• Always be open to new insights and learn from other parliaments and stakeholders.  
• Centralize your work and advocacy to public needs and services.  
• CSOs and PMOs are your friends, and not your enemy, they will always be available to help you in your programs and advocacy.  

What accomplishments in parliament are you most proud of? 

Supporting the redesign of the website, capacity building on IT policy and public engagement policies, connecting CSOs and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on legislation hearing, supporting leadership on their policy agenda. 

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