DPD pushes for legislative power<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Regional Representatives Council (DPD) is seeking support for
\na constitutional amendment that would give it legislative power.<\/p>\n
DPD Speaker Ginandjar Kartasasmita said the council had
\nreceived positive support from House of Representatives members
\nregarding its rights to participate in bill deliberations.<\/p>\n
The council needed to have the signatures from at least one
\nthird of 678 People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) members, as
\nstipulated in Article 37 of the amended 1945 Constitution, to
\nhold a plenary session in a bid to pursue a further
\nconstitutional amendment.<\/p>\n
With 128 votes already acquired from its own members, the
\ncouncil will need at least 100 more votes from the House members,
\nGinandjar said.<\/p>\n
\"And we're quite optimistic that the 100 votes are in hand.
\nIt's not formal yet, but House members showed support when we
\ndiscussed the plan with them,\" he said after a meeting with MPR
\nSpeaker Hidayat Nurwahid on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The DPD, comprising 128 members, and the 550-strong House make
\nup the Assembly.<\/p>\n
The council has been seeking to secure a considerably greater
\ndecision making role and extra powers, which would put it on the
\nsame level as the House of Representatives, and allow its member
\nto vote during the deliberation of bills. Currently the DPD is
\nable to forward its recommendations to the House but has no
\nlegislative powers.<\/p>\n
The council believes its members deserve legislative rights
\nmore than those from other legislative bodies because they were
\ndirectly elected by the public, while House members were mostly
\nparty list candidates.<\/p>\n
Ginandjar said the council planned to propose the amendment
\nsome time this year.<\/p>\n
He recently met with Hidayat to clarify a statement by a
\nConstitution familiarization team, which said the Assembly had no
\nplans to amend the Constitution.<\/p>\n
Hidayat dismissed the statement, saying possible amendments
\nwere still wide open as long as they were adequately proposed by
\nthe required number of Assembly members.<\/p>\n
The Assembly has slashed the budget allotted for its program
\nto familiarize members with constitutional amendments by some Rp
\n6 billion (US$631,578) to around Rp 13.8 billion for this year.<\/p>\n
\"We have scrapped the plan for overseas trips, and instead
\nwill have our ambassadors and representatives familiarize these
\namendments to Indonesians living abroad,\" Hidayat said.<\/p>\n
The program would run through 2009, and is also aimed at
\ngetting feedback from the public on other important issues that
\nneeded to be included in the Constitution.<\/p>\n
Copies of the latest amended Constitution will be distributed
\nalong with detail of regulations enacted by the Assembly
\nregarding local administrations and schools.<\/p>\n
The Constitution has been amended four times since 1999. The
\namended items included limiting a president and vice president's
\ntenure and their authority, as well as establishing the DPD, the
\nConstitutional Court and the Judicial Commission.<\/p>\n
Other appended items are the holding of direct elections, and
\nthe allocation of 20 percent from the state budget for education.<\/p>",
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