Calls rise for independent constitutional commission

Calls rise for independent constitutional commission

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Public pressure is now growing for the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) to establish an independent constitutional
commission, just two days before the Assembly begins its Annual
Session to endorse changes agreed in the fourth phase of the
constitutional amendment process.

Noted Muslim cleric Solahuddin Wahid, legal expert Adnan
Buyung Nasution and former coordinating minister for political
and security affairs Gen. (ret.) Wiranto met with MPR chairman
Amien Rais on Tuesday to urge the Assembly to form an independent
commission to synchronize amendments made in the fourth phase
with those endorsed in previous stages.

The National Awakening Party (PKB), the fourth-largest party,
voiced a similar demand on Monday.

"We are concerned at the current amendment process," said
Buyung after a closed-door meeting with the MPR leaders here on
Tuesday.

However, he did not elaborate on this concern.

According to Buyung, the proposed commission could be
established through a decree or by amending Article 37 of the
1945 Constitution to give authority to the commission.

The commission, Buyung said, would be tasked with advancing
and harmonizing all results of amendments in the past three
years.

Until the constitutional commission completed its task, he
added, all amended articles in the constitution ought to be
declared valid.

The MPR, the country's highest legislative body, will convene
from Aug. 1 through 10 to endorse, among other things, amendments
agreed in the current stage of constitutional amendment.

Analysts have criticized the whole process and the results of
amendments to the 1945 Constitution, which, they said, had not
been subject to public participation and were based merely on
political parties' short-term vested interests.

The Interest Groups faction, for example, has insisted on
maintaining its presence in the MPR, despite agreement last year
that the Assembly would comprise members of the House of
Representatives (DPR) and the Regional Representatives Council
(DPD), all of whom must have been elected in a general election.

After more than one year of deliberations, the Assembly's ad
hoc committee for amendment (PAH 1) has failed to reach consensus
on the factions in the MPR.

MPR members have also locked horns on a direct presidential
election as they have failed to reach an agreement on the second
round of the election in the event that the first fails to
produce a clear winner to take over the national leadership.

Apart from their conflicting political interests, MPR members
have also come under fire for providing the public with little
opportunity to participate in the amendment process.

Even though PAH 1 members held hearings with various religious
groups and scholars, as well as making regional visits, the time
available for discussion was very limited, depriving the public
at large of the opportunity to participate actively in the
process.

Such a political tug-of-war and lack of public participation
has prompted non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and proreform
activists to call for the setting up of an independent
constitutional commission.

An NGO coalition, headed by the Center for Electoral Reform
(Cetro), insisted that the commission had to be granted full
authority to draft a new constitution.

The existence of the commission, Cetro argued, would not be a
threat to the authority of the MPR as the draft would be
presented to the MPR for approval. Should the MPR reject the
draft, the entire electorate would have to be given a chance to
have the final say through a national referendum.

The campaign, however, failed to get MPR support.

According to Buyung, Amien Rais gave a positive response to
demands on Tuesday for the creation of a constitutional
commission.