Excerpts of the 12 draft decrees endorsed by MPR session<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The following are excerpts of the 12 draft
\ndecrees adopted by the Special Session of the People's
\nConsultative Assembly on Friday.<\/p>\n
* The decree on the amendment of the Assembly's internal rules
\nstipulates that following the planned elections in mid 1999, the
\nAssembly will choose its own leaders who will be separate from
\nthose of the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
In the past, Assembly leaders automatically held top posts in
\nthe House.<\/p>\n
The Assembly leadership will consist of a speaker and a
\nmaximum of five deputies picked from political parties with large
\nnumbers of seats and in accordance with the \"national political
\nconfiguration\".<\/p>\n
The decree also makes it obligatory for the president to
\nattend a session to hear the Assembly's respond to his or her
\nspeech of accountability. In the past the president's presence at
\nthis session was not compulsory.<\/p>\n
* The decree to revoke the 1983 Assembly decree on referenda
\nopens the wider possibility of amending the 1945 Constitution in
\nthe future. According to the 1983 decree, followed up by the 1985
\nLaw on Referenda, a referendum must be held before the Assembly
\ncan review the Constitution.<\/p>\n
* The decree to revoke the March 1998 decree on the State
\nPolicy Guidelines (GBHN) adopted during the General Session of
\nthe Assembly in March. It was replaced by a scaled down document
\nto cover the period up to the Assembly's next general session,
\nwhich is due in the middle of next year.<\/p>\n
* The decree to revoke the 1998 decree granting the president
\nextraordinary powers, which in March handed then president
\nSoeharto the right to declare a state of emergency and to do
\nanything necessary to maintain security and stability in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
* The decree to revoke the 1978 Assembly decree on the
\nPropagation and Implementation of Pancasila (P4) rules that the
\ngovernment must stop the compulsory P4 propagation program.
\nDuring Soeharto's 32 year tenure, the program was compulsory for
\nstudents, government officials and workers in the private sector.<\/p>\n
The Assembly also added a chapter to the original draft decree
\non the right to information.<\/p>\n
* The decree on general elections was adopted after a vote in
\nFriday's final plenary session.<\/p>\n
With the new decree, the Assembly agreed that a general
\nelection will be held by next May, or June at the latest. It also
\nstipulates that the election will be organized by a independent
\nelection committee whose members will comprise of representatives
\nfrom political parties, non-governmental organizations and the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
* The decree limiting the presidential and vice presidential
\nterms in office stipulates that both president and vice president
\ncan only hold office for a maximum of two five-year terms.<\/p>\n
According to Chapter 7 of the Constitution, the president and
\nvice president hold office for an initial term of five years,
\nafter which they can be reelected for an indeterminate number of
\ntimes.<\/p>\n
Sukarno and Soeharto, the country's two previous presidents,
\nheld office for 22 years and 32 years respectively.<\/p>\n
* The decree on the principles of developmental reform in
\nlight of safeguarding and normalizing life in the nation will
\nserve as the broad outline of state policy for President B.J.
\nHabibie's government until the next general session of the MPR,
\nwhich will convene in mid-1999.<\/p>\n
The decree stipulates the objectives of developmental reform
\nin economic, political, legal, social and cultural fields.<\/p>\n
In the economic field, the decree stipulates that the current
\neconomic crisis must be resolved and that reform measures must
\nsupport efforts to this end.<\/p>\n
The agenda for management of the economic crisis is very
\nsimilar to the program of reform already agreed to with the
\nInternational Monetary Fund (IMF). It includes a number of
\nunquantified targets such as stabilizing the rupiah's exchange
\nrate at a reasonable level, managing interest rates and
\ninflation, bank restructuring, food security and resolution of
\nthe private sector debt problem.<\/p>\n
The reform agenda embodies the structural reform measures
\nalready adopted within the IMF bail-out program.<\/p>\n
The political reform agenda covers the promulgation of new
\npolitical laws which are conducive to fostering the process of
\ndemocratization and will facilitate the convening of a fair,
\ndirect and free and general election by secret ballot in mid-
\n1999. It also includes provisions to check government power,
\nintroduce good governance and adjust the military's dual function
\nin accordance with its new paradigm.<\/p>\n
The agenda for legal reform deals with how to create a clear-
\ncut division of authority between the judicial and executive
\nbranches of the government and contains clauses designed to
\nensure supremacy of the law and protect basic human rights.<\/p>\n
The most notable points on the agenda for socio-cultural
\nreform are the social safety net programs covering education,
\nemployment and health, and the preparation of legal instruments,
\nan infrastructure and programs of action to foster ethics in
\nbusiness, professions and public administration.<\/p>\n
* The decree on the administration of regional autonomy,
\nmanagement, distribution and harnessing of natural resources in a
\njust manner to strike a fiscal balance between provincial
\nadministrations and the central government within the unitary
\nstate of the Republic of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
This decree stipulates that the administration, distribution
\nand exploitation of natural resources shall be conducted in a
\njust manner to improve the welfare of local people and the nation
\nas a whole.<\/p>\n
The fiscal balance between the central and provincial
\ngovernments is to be set with respect to the potential, size and
\npopulation of each province and local people's income levels.<\/p>\n
* The decree on human rights requires that all state
\ninstitutions enforce and esteem and that the president and the
\nHouse of Representatives (DPR) ratify all of the United Nations
\n(UN) conventions on human rights.<\/p>\n
It requires the issuance of a law to give the National
\nCommission on Human Rights the legal authority to monitor and
\nreport on the implementation of human rights conventions. The
\ncurrent Commission was established by presidential decree in
\nJanuary 1994.<\/p>\n
In July, President B.J. Habibie instigated a five-year
\nNational Action Plan on Human Rights in an attempt to improve
\nIndonesia's much condemned international image on rights issues.<\/p>\n
The government has yet to ratify several UN treaties,
\nincluding the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and
\nCultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and
\nPolitical Rights.<\/p>\n
* The decree on good governance free from corruption, collusion
\nand nepotism instructs the government to investigate and deal
\nfirmly with former and incumbent government officials --
\nincluding former president Soeharto -- their families and cronies
\nas well as businesspeople suspected of corruption, collusion and
\nnepotism.<\/p>\n
The decree stipulates that officials shall publicly disclose
\ntheir wealth before and after their appointment and shall be
\nwilling to have their wealth audited by an institution set up by
\nthe head of state to perform this task. The institution will be
\nstaffed by representatives of the government and the people.<\/p>\n
The decree also requires amendment of the anti-corruption law
\nto enhance the drive to combat graft.<\/p>\n
* The decree on political economy within economic democracy
\nstipulates, among other things, that:<\/p>\n
National economic development is designed to create a broad
\nbase of small and medium-scale enterprises (SME) and to foster
\nmutually-beneficial linkages between cooperatives, SMEs, large
\ncompanies and state enterprises.<\/p>\n
The implementation of economic democracy shall seek to avoid
\nthe concentration of economic assets and forces in the hands of a
\nsmall number of people and companies.<\/p>\n
Cooperatives and SMEs, as the main pillar of national economic
\ndevelopment, shall be given as many opportunities, incentives and
\nassistance as possible, without ignoring the role of big business
\nand state enterprises.<\/p>\n
National land use shall be organized in a just manner and the
\nconcentration of land use rights and land ownership in the hands
\nof a few individuals or companies shall be prevented in light of
\nefforts to enhance the strength of cooperatives, SMEs and the
\npeople at large.<\/p>\n
Banks and financial institutions shall give top priority to
\ncooperatives and SMEs while continuing to work within the
\nprinciple of sound business management.<\/p>\n
Bank Indonesia as the central bank shall be independent and
\nfree of interference from the government and all other parties
\nand shall be accountable for its conduct.<\/p>\n
Foreign borrowing by the government shall be approved by the
\nHouse of Representatives within the annual state budget and
\nforeign debts shall strengthen, and not burden, the national
\neconomy.<\/p>\n
The private sector shall be fully responsible for its foreign
\nborrowing, but the borrowing shall be closely monitored by the
\ngovernment in a transparent manner.<\/p>\n
Economic democracy for workers shall be brought about through
\nlabor participation and freedom of association in line with the
\nlaw and through issuing shares in the ownership of employing
\nenterprises. (team)<\/p>",
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