Bintang drafts proposal to amend Constitution<\/p>\n
By Achmad Nurhoeri<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Defiant politician Sri Bintang Pamungkas has
\ndrafted a proposal to amend the 1945 Constitution, the document
\nupon which the current political system is founded.<\/p>\n
"If the system needs fixing, then the Constitution has to be
\namended," Bintang told The Jakarta Post Wednesday.<\/p>\n
"The 1945 Constitution no longer fits the present situation.
\nEven President Sukarno once said it was made in a hurry," he
\nsaid, referring to Indonesia's first president.<\/p>\n
The 1945 Constitution can be amended by the People's
\nConsultative Assembly through a vote. A 1985 law however declares
\nthat even if the assembly approves any amendments, they must be
\nput to a referendum.<\/p>\n
Bintang's draft contains 140 articles, compared to 37 in the
\n1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
It proposes a maximum 10-year term limit for a president, and
\nis heavy on decentralization of power and civil rights.<\/p>\n
It also seeks to transform the MPR into a body more like the
\nU.S. Congress, which consists of a House of Representatives and a
\nSenate.<\/p>\n
His move to modify the Constitution is his latest political
\nmaneuver in the face of imminent imprisonment.<\/p>\n
Bintang was convicted at the Central Jakarta District Court in
\nMay for insulting President Soeharto in speeches he gave during a
\nvisit to Germany in 1995. The Jakarta High Court rejected his
\nappeal and confirmed the 34-month jail sentence.<\/p>\n
He has since filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
During the trial, Bintang was sacked from the House of
\nRepresentatives by his own faction, the United Development Party.<\/p>\n
Last May, even after the court verdict, he founded, with a few
\nfriends, the Indonesian Democratic Union Party (PUDI).<\/p>\n
Although his party is excluded from taking part in this year's
\ngeneral election, Bintang has announced his intention to run for
\npresident in 1998.<\/p>\n
Last week the 51-year-old former legislator lost a battle at
\nthe Jakarta Administrative Court, which upheld Attorney General
\nSinggih's ban on him traveling overseas.<\/p>\n
The 1945 Constitution -- enacted by the Committee for the
\nPreparation of Indonesia's Independence a day after Sukarno
\nproclaimed independence on Aug. 17, 1945 -- has never been
\nchanged.<\/p>\n
But it was shelved between 1949 and 1959. In 1949, Indonesia
\nadopted the Provisional Constitution of the Federal Republic of
\nthe United States of Indonesia. A year later, it implemented the
\n1950 Provisional Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. In
\n1959, Sukarno decreed a return to the 1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
Bintang's draft was prepared with his wife, PUDI deputy
\nchairman Julius Usman and PUDI general secretary Saleh Abdullah.<\/p>\n
PUDI plans to disseminate the draft nationwide. "This draft is
\nopen for revision," Bintang said.<\/p>\n
Senior lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution of the Indonesian Legal
\nAid Foundation told the Post that he foresaw difficulties for
\nBintang in his quest.<\/p>\n
"But you know Bintang. He's gutsy and willing to struggle
\nunaccompanied," Buyung said.<\/p>\n
Asked for his opinion of the Constitution, Adnan said: "I
\nbelieve the 1945 Constitution needs to be reviewed, but it would
\nbe better if it were done within the state framework. It should
\nbe discussed by other groups besides Bintang."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bintang-drafts-proposal-to-amend-constitution-1447893297",
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