Assembly establishes working committee
JAKARTA (JP): The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) established on Monday a 90-member working committee tasked to prepare amendments to the 1945 Constitution, set procedures for the presidential election and formulate draft decrees on various state affairs.
The committee will also design the broad outlines of the State Policy Guidelines (GBHN) for the 1999-2004 period, MPR chairman Amien Rais told reporters on Monday after a consultative meeting with the 11 factions of the Assembly.
"The working committee will play a strategic role during the annual MPR General Session and the five-year tenure of the Assembly," Amien added.
The first task of this committee, from Oct. 6 to Oct. 14, is to prepare draft decrees, amendments to the Constitution and State Policy Guidelines and set procedures for the presidential election for deliberation at the MPR General Session starting on Oct. 14, Amien added.
"The committee will work for the next five years to perform the administrative work of the highest law-making body and to make preparations for its annual General Session," he said.
When asked about the stipulations of the Constitution which require amendments, Amien simply said: "Numerous."
Hatta Radjasa, an MPR member from the National Mandate Party (PAN), concurred and said the Team-7 forum of seven parties, including Golkar, PAN and PPP, agreed to amend the Constitution's stipulations, which give too much power to the president.
"We have agreed, for example, that a president can hold office for only two periods," he said.
Radjasa said former president Soeharto took advantage of vague stipulations in the Constitution regarding the presidency for enabling him to stay in power for seven consecutive terms.
"Such a thing will no longer happen in the future," he said.
Golkar deputy chairman Slamet Efendy Yusuf said his faction would also recommend a review of the status of 135 regional representatives and 65 interest group representatives appointed (not elected) to the Assembly.
"I think there are no longer any political reasons to maintain the two political groupings at the Assembly since their aspirations can be channeled through political parties," he said.
The Constitution stipulates that the MPR consists of elected House members, appointed representatives from the provinces and interest groups.
Members of the committee will be led by the MPR leadership which will consist of representatives from the eleven factions at the Assembly (not ten factions as it appeared in The Jakarta Post's Monday edition), in proportion to the number of their members at the Assembly.
Amien added that seats on the working committee were apportioned under a ratio of one seat for every eight members in the Assembly.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction, which has a total of 188 members in the Assembly, will have 24 representatives on the committee and the 164-member Golkar faction will have 21.
The 64-member United Development Party (PPP) faction will put in eight representatives, the 57-member National Awakening Party (PKB) seven, the Indonesian Military/National Police faction, which has 38 members, will get five seats and the 44-member Reform faction six.
The joint Indonesian Unity and Nationhood faction and the Crescent Star Party (PBB) faction will each get one seat and the 65-member interest group faction will get nine. (rms)