Assembly establishes working committee

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)