TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:About 16 members of the House of Representatives (DPR) and the Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR) declared a caucus entitled Saving the Nation in Jakarta on Monday (6/1). This is intended to create unity in facing the current growing public crisis of confidence as regards the government due to various unpopular policies. In principle, we are committed to save the nation and to make the people be the king in their own country, said Ali Masykur Musa, a politician from the National Awakening Party (PKB) who presided over the declaration. We are concerned about any policy that inflicts a loss upon people. We have to take a part to correct [the government] to put a priority on peoples interest, he added. However, he denied to explain when the idea of forming the caucus started. Marwah Daud Ibrahim from Golkar Party who read the declaration said that it was an informal caucus. Though it has members from various factions, the caucus focuses on its goal with each member voicing her or his voice, not that of their group. Marwah denied that the caucus was intended to bring down the government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri. The orators voiced their concern about the governments policies and also DPR performance. In general, the caucus focused on criticizing the policies that led to the increasing of fuel prices, electricity tariffs and telephone rates. The caucus also criticized the Indosat divestment, the open proportional election system, and the annuling Presidential Instruction Number 8/2002 that released bad debtors (release and discharge). Ali Masykur Musa said the caucus has been preparing a book of its objectives, adding: The book will be a blueprint of the caucus in the future. (Budi Riza--Tempo News Room)