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Tensions between the House of Representatives and the Justice Ministry, heightened by last week’s prison visit fiasco, continued to mount on Monday as legislators pushed for a formal inquiry into a moratorium on sentence cuts for graft convicts.

The call came immediately after a hearing between House Commission III, which oversees legal affairs, and Justice Minister Amir Syamsuddin.

The meeting had been scheduled to discuss current affairs in the legal field, including the minister’s response to a request by legislators that a moratorium on corruption and terrorism convicts receiving remissions be dropped.

Just 10 minutes in, however, the hearing was called off after six of the eight parties in attendance objected to the minister’s refusal to grant the request.

Aziz Syamsuddin, the Commission III deputy chairman who led Monday’s hearing, said that with only the Democratic Party agreeing to continue and the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) abstaining, the hearing would not continue. Aziz and Amir are not related.

Immediately after that, legislators said they would exercise their right to push for an inquiry into the remission moratorium. They presented their petition, required for the inquiry, to House Deputy Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso, who said he would present the motion at the next plenary session of the House.

“I’ll present the petition at the next assembly and we’ll decide then whether to proceed with an inquiry or not,” he said.

He added that the petition was signed by 87 legislators from seven parties. It required a minimum of 25 signatories from two parties in order to be presented at the plenary session.

If passed, the motion will result in the House setting up a special committee to look into the decision taken by Amir, shortly after his appointment last October, to deny all sentence cuts to corruption convicts.

The policy, while welcomed by antigraft watchdogs and activists, drew an uproar from legislators when it was first rolled out because it resulted in Paskah Suzetta, a former legislator and minister, being sent back to jail just moments after he was released after receiving a remission.

The standoff over the remission moratorium is the latest bone of contention between the House and the Justice Ministry.

Legislators are already up in arms over the ministry’s outing of Democratic Party legislator Muhammad Nasir visiting his brother, graft suspect Muhammad Nazaruddin, at the latter’s cell in Jakarta’s Cipinang Penitentiary last Wednesday.

Amir said on Sunday that the meeting, at 11 p.m. and involving lawyers, occurred outside visiting hours, while Deputy Justice Minister Denny Indrayana said Nasir had pulled rank to force prison officials to allow him in.

Amir also pointed out that while House Commission III legislators were allowed access to prisons to conduct checks at any time, the privilege was only extended to those issued special cards, which Nasir did not have.

At Monday’s brief hearing, several legislators turned in their cards in a show of protest against the ministry.

Syarifuddin Suding, from the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura), said he was returning his card because it had become a contentious issue.

“I didn’t request this card,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, legislators should be allowed [access to prisons] without the card. So rather than get caught up in the controversy, I’m handing in my card.”

Others who followed suit included Trimedya Panjaitan from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Nudirman Munir from the Golkar Party and Ahmad Yani from the United Development Party (PPP).

By contrast, Ruhut Sitompul from the Democratic Party took a more conciliatory tone with the minister, apologizing for what he called Nasir’s “mistake.”

“You’ll have to forgive what our colleague Nasir did, because no matter what he was in the wrong,” he said.