Breaking the old taboo

One would think there was no other document on this planet more sacred than Indonesia's 1945 Constitution, which still plays a role as the very source of Indonesian laws. The historic legacy of our founding fathers is also said to be the only road that leads to a just and prosperous society.

That is what this nation has been told for decades. We have also been led to believe that the country could face a calamity if it betrays the spirit of the Constitution or tries to amend it.

However, the reality is a tragic irony. The precious concept -- after experiencing an initial lull during the turbulent years of revolution between 1945 and 1949 -- was later humiliated and abused by both the successive Old Order and New Order regimes of presidents Sukarno and Soeharto respectively for their own ends.

In 1950, when Indonesia decided to have a taste of western democracy, the 1945 Constitution was forced into retirement. It was replaced by a more elaborate provisional constitution, which was meant to last until a democratic general election, the first this country would have.

A democratic poll was held in 1955 and produced a new parliament and constituent Assembly. But the Assembly bumbled along for years with little success in drafting a new constitution. President Sukarno -- who had been made mere a figurehead in 1950 and had been impatiently waiting for a chance to jump into the political scene -- used his constitutional right to dissolve the Assembly and declare the reactivation of the 1945 Constitution.

Everything would have been all right if his maneuver had been sincere. But trouble ensued when he introduced his style of "guided democracy", which was nothing but another term for dictatorship.

His rule, during which he flirted with the communists, finally pushed the nation toward the Crocodile Hole, the dry well into which the bodies of leading Army generals were dumped during the communist coup attempt in 1965.

President Soeharto, who took over from the flamboyant founding father in 1966, declared that the root of all evils was Sukarno's violation of the 1945 Constitution. He promised to redress the situation and implement the Constitution sincerely.

However, his three-decade iron-fisted rule was history repeating itself in a more horrendous way. Last year he stepped down in disgrace, leaving the nation on the brink of an economic and political calamity. But at least his fall paved the way for democracy.

On Monday, Dr. Nurcholish Madjid, a noted scholar and thoughtful political observer, reminded Indonesians in an interview with Kompas daily that the most pivotal task of this nation today is to amend the 1945 Constitution. His statement is in fact nothing new and the Constitution itself stipulates that amendments simply need the backing of two-thirds of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the highest constitutional body.

Only in the past, the rulers -- especially Soeharto -- always branded the idea a dangerous subversive virus, while raising his finger to "right wing extremists:" Muslim politicians.

Soeharto in 1985 had his House of Representatives rubber stamp a bill that made it possible to make constitutional amendments, although such rulings are not written in the 1945 Constitution. With the obstructive law repealed in March, the door for constitutional changes has been opened wide.

Although the nation is still making preparations for the June general election and the formation of a new MPR will not take place before September, Nurcholish's statement is relevant.

We understand it as a warning to people of the nation to be careful in their choice in the general election. If they choose the pro-status quo political power, they can expect not only further abuses of the 1945 Constitution, but also another catastrophe which would be more suicidal than before.