MPR to set up team to amend Constitution<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker
\nAmien Rais has responded positively to the proposal from
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri to establish an independent
\ncommission to amend the 1945 Constitution, but asserted that the
\ncommission must be under the auspice of the Assembly.<\/p>\n
Amien asserted on Wednesday that the authority to amend the
\nConstitution lies in the hands of the Assembly, not with the
\nexecutive body and therefore, the commission must be established
\nby the Assembly.<\/p>\n
In fact, Amien added, the Assembly's 50-member working
\ncommittee in charge of amending the Constitution has been tasked
\nto make preparations for the proposed commission to be discussed
\nin detail at the Assembly's annual session scheduled for Nov. 1,
\n2001.<\/p>\n
"Before being brought to the annual session, the working
\ncommittee will lobby all factions in the Assembly to receive
\ninput on how the commission would be established and how the
\namendment should be conducted," he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Amien said that he personally wanted the Assembly to recruit
\nexperts from various disciplines and informal leaders instead of
\nparty figures to fill the commission in order to maintain its
\nindependence.<\/p>\n
"We have constitutional law experts, religious figures,
\nsociologists, economists and informal leaders who understand the
\nfounding fathers' thoughts and have a good vision of Indonesia.
\nThey should be recruited in the commission," he said.<\/p>\n
In her state-of-the-nation address on August 16, Megawati
\nproposed the establishment of a constitutional commission to take
\nnote of people's views on an amendment and then draft the
\namendment comprehensively and professionally. This draft would
\nthen be reviewed and endorsed by the Assembly.<\/p>\n
Former president Abdurrahman Wahid also proposed a similar
\ncommission, but Amien was unresponsive to the proposal at that
\ntime.<\/p>\n
Separately, Jacob Tobing, chairman of the Assembly's ad hoc
\ncommittee in charge of constitutional amendment, said Megawati's
\nproposal to establish the commission came partly from the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)'s
\nAssembly faction in order to prevent MPR from wasting time on
\ntechnical and procedural matters.<\/p>\n
"If the proposal is accepted and the commission is established
\nin the November annual session, the commission will have one year
\nuntil 2002 to complete its task.<\/p>\n
"The House of Representatives will have two years until 2004
\nto make new laws and revise the existing laws in line with the
\namended Constitution so Indonesia is expected to not face any
\nfurther constitutional problems as of 2004," he said.<\/p>\n
Jacob, also a legislator of PDI Perjuangan, the political
\nparty that Megawati chairs, said he and his party would continue
\nto maintain several fundamental issues in the Constitution,
\nmainly the Constitution's preamble, the unitary state principle,
\nthe indirect presidential election and the current electoral
\nsystem.<\/p>\n
In contrast with Amien's proposal, Jacob suggested that the
\nAssembly should not only recruit experts but also party figures
\nwith good ideas and a vision for Indonesia and its political
\nsystem to be members of the commission.<\/p>\n
"They (party figures) should be included in the commission to
\ncontribute their ideas and thoughts on how the Constitution
\nshould be amended comprehensively," he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Hadar N. Gumay from the Nongovernmental Coalition
\nfor a New Constitution welcomed the plan to establish an
\nindependent constitutional commission, but he gave some advice on
\nits establishment.<\/p>\n
He suggested that politicians be barred from entering the
\ncommission to prevent political infighting and any amendments
\nbeing based on short-term political interests. Instead,
\nrepresentatives from all provinces and nonpolitical groupings be
\nincluded in the commission through an agreed, democratic
\nselection process.<\/p>\n
Then, when the commission works, it should accommodate
\nfeedback from society through various means such as seminars,
\nsurveys, polling and so on. Then, the commission should produce a
\ndraft amendment and inform the public so as to receive additional
\ninput for further improvement. The findings would then be
\npresented to the Assembly for approval.<\/p>\n
Hadar noted that the Assembly should not debate the draft,
\nbecause it would likely end up in political infighting and
\ncompromise.<\/p>\n
Instead, the Assembly should just approve the draft or reject
\nit altogether. When the draft is rejected, the next step would
\ninvolve returning to the beginning of the process again or by
\ntaking a referendum.<\/p>\n
"It's true it needs a long and winding process. But if we want
\nto have a Constitution that belongs to the people, we have to go
\nthrough all these democratic processes," Hadar said. (rms\/rid)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mpr-to-set-up-team-to-amend-constitution-1447893297",
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