Dili, September 4, 2025 (Média Democracia) – Students of Universidade da Paz (UNPAZ) held a press conference regarding the political decision of the National Parliament, through its administrative council, which foresaw and approved a special budget in 2024 for the purchase of 65 new Prado vehicles for members of parliament. The press conference was held on Tuesday.
Spokesperson Eugenio dos Santos stated that the National Parliament, as the sovereign body of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (RDTL) representing all the people in the plenary, is mandated to exercise legislative power, enact laws, oversee government programs, create policies, and make adequate and sustainable decisions that represent the interests of the people.
“For these reasons, we as academic students of UNPAZ, deeply regret and completely disagree with the decision of the National Parliament, especially the statement of the President of the National Parliament, Mrs. Fernanda Lay, who strongly defended through immature declarations in the media that it was necessary to purchase 65 Prado vehicles for MPs because the existing cars are in poor condition, or already damaged, and therefore need to be replaced for MPs to carry out oversight, also arguing that maintenance costs are too high,” said spokesperson Eugenio dos Santos.
He added that the people of Timor-Leste are well aware that, starting from the first legislature until now (the 6th legislature), governments have been formed nine times, and laws have repeatedly been enacted to serve private, party, and group interests, decisions made behind closed doors without public participation. Ultimately, the National Parliament, which people place their hopes in to debate and decide on the nation’s destiny, has instead become a forum where 65 MPs debate and comfort themselves with their own personal, group, and party interests.
“As we can see, they want to buy Prado vehicles while also producing laws on lifetime pensions, receiving various subsidies and entitlements such as travel allowances, housing allowances, fuel costs, phone allowances, healthcare expenses, even funeral costs, though they themselves don’t know when they will die. These excessive privileges for MPs in the National Parliament are unacceptable,” said Eugenio.
He stressed that these privileges prove that the National Parliament no longer represents the people but rather individual, family, group, and party interests, and most gravely, only the interests of wealthy elites, imperialist powers, and oligarchs, buying and selling the nation’s sacred resources.
“The people of Timor-Leste can clearly see that MPs no longer exercise their political power and functions responsibly. They do not debate or discuss the country’s deep structural social problems. They fail to prioritize strategic and productive sectors such as education, agriculture, tourism, health, and basic infrastructure, sectors that could improve the people’s wellbeing and contribute to sustainable national development in the future,” the spokesperson affirmed.
He underlined that instead of finding solutions, MPs focus on creating laws that grant themselves privileges, strengthening their families, and securing their parties’ future during elections. This incapacity and ignorance have pushed the nation into stagnation, where the people face the burden of social injustice created by political leaders, especially the National Parliament, which should have been the space to debate the people’s future in economic, social, cultural, and political-educational terms, but this never happens.
“Today, the parliament building has become nothing more than a place for MPs to argue with each other, attack one another, and tell stories about who fights and who does not, who does well and who does not. Such attitudes have become habitual among MPs, degrading the image and credibility of this sovereign body of the state,” Eugenio emphasized.
He further said that UNPAZ academic students regret and consider that MPs no longer have the moral responsibility to serve the people in line with constitutional principles. Instead of exercising political power to represent the people’s interests, they prioritize personal and group interests. MPs are no longer serious about discussing and deciding on the people’s problems, but instead use parliament as a space to express only their particular interests.
“We also consider that Parliament is no longer a place to debate the people’s interests but has become a space for MPs’ conflicts of interest, pointing fingers at each other, while the people continue living in misery,” the spokesperson added.
He pointed out that given the people’s current social struggles, it is unnecessary to spend money on buying Prado vehicles, especially since parliamentary oversight since the first legislature until now has shown no significant results in responding to the needs of the people.
Finally, he called on all citizens, students from universities and institutes, veterans, resistance youth, and civil society to continue resisting and opposing political decisions that do not serve the people’s wellbeing, but instead perpetuate and reinforce social injustice in this republic.
Report: Nelfiano
Photo: Nelfiano