1945 Constitution amendments approved

1945 Constitution amendments approved

JAKARTA (JP): The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) agreed
on Thursday to amend 10 articles in the 1945 Constitution to
curtail powers of the president.

The most noteworthy amendment, and also the main demand of the
country's reform movement, is a limit on presidential and vice
presidential terms in office to two five-year periods.

Prior to the amendment, Article 7 of the Constitution stated
the president and vice president may hold office for an initial
term of five years after which they could be reelected an
undetermined number of times.

Critics and legislators have said the article was deliberately
misinterpreted or abused by Indonesia's two former presidents in
order to stay in power.

Sukarno, the country's founding president, and Soeharto held
office for 22 years and 32 years respectively.

Critics also said that chapters in the Constitution enabled
the former presidents to maintain control of the country in a
"constitutional manner".

The Assembly also agreed to revoke the legislative power of a
president as stipulated in Article 5 and furnish the power to the
House of Representatives.

The Assembly said the amendment would maintain the right of
the president to make laws, but the legislation must now be
deliberated and endorsed by both the House and the president.

However, the Assembly agreed to postpone deliberation of a
proposed amendment that stipulates a law will automatically
become effective if it is not signed by the president within 30
days of the House's approval.

The deliberation of the proposed amendment is slated to resume
after the General Session of the Assembly, which is scheduled to
end on Thursday.

The Assembly also agreed to reduce presidential prerogatives,
including the privilege of appointing diplomats and granting
amnesties and awards.

The amendment to Article 13 and Article 14 of the Constitution
stipulates that the House's opinion must be taken into
consideration by the president before diplomats are appointed,
and before the sentences of prisoners are commuted or amnesty
granted.

Article 15 of the Constitution, which stipulates the president
has the right to confer awards and medals, was also amended.

The amendment states that the future conferring of awards will
be regulated through a law.

Conferment of medals is an annual tradition held at the State
Palace in conjunction with Independence Day on Aug. 17.

This year's ceremony was notable for the exceptionally high
number of medals presented.

President B.J. Habibie conferred meritorious service honors on
107 people, including many public figures from his inner circle.

The amendments were endorsed at the Assembly plenary meeting.

After the plenary session, an Assembly working committee will
also revise other articles from the Constitution. It will
deliberate a draft on direct presidential elections and another
draft on the evaluation of state institutions, including the
Assembly, the Supreme Advisory Council and the Supreme Audit
Agency. (byg)