1945 Constitution is amendable: Law expert

JAKARTA (JP): The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has come under fire for its reluctance to amend the 1945 Constitution to accommodate 50 years of change.

The National University's School of Law dean, Dahlan Ranuwihardjo, said Wednesday: "The 1945 Constitution is not a Holy Book which cannot be changed."

He said the constitution was drafted and enacted during the 1945 revolutionary struggle for independence. "It should be subject to amendment," he said.

He said it was "shocking" that the MPR, despite having the authority, had refused to amend the constitution.

The MPR decreed in 1978 that it has no intention of amending the constitution, and introduced rulings that make it virtually impossible to introduce amendments.

"This is a violation of the constitution," Dahlan said after presenting a paper in a seminar on politics at the University of August 17, where he is also a lecturer.

Article 37 of the 1945 Constitution stipulates that the constitution can be amended if at least two-thirds of the 1,000- strong MPR agrees.

In 1985, the government introduced a ruling that further restricted the possibility of amending the constitution. The 1985 law requires that any change must be done through referendum.

Dahlan, who was sacked from the House of Representatives in 1968 for opposing a general election bill, said the United States started amending its constitution four years after it was adopted in 1787. "This shows that the nation is dynamic," he said.

Rebel politician Sri Bintang Pamungkas is now being interrogated on charges of subversion; one of his alleged offenses was suggesting constitutional amendments.

Dahlan cited presidential term limitations as one amendment that the MPR should make to the 1945 Constitution.

The constitution does not limit the number of times a person can serve as president, which has allowed the incumbent Soeharto to be elected six times as president since 1968. The 75-year-old president is likely to be reelected again in 1998.

Harmoko, chairman of the dominant Golkar, said in a campaign speech this week that the party refused to consider limiting the terms of the presidency.

Dahlan said Indonesia had had only one presidential succession -- from Sukarno to Soeharto in 1967, when the latter was first elected as acting president.

He described that succession as "constitutional but slightly defective" because Sukarno had relinquished power under strong pressure. (11)