Careful with the Constitution

Careful with the Constitution

From Suara Karya

I read in a newspaper of Aug. 30 a statement by Daniel S. Lev, a political observer from Washington University, calling for the 1945 Constitution to be overhauled. The rationale is that the Constitution was established in an extremely difficult situation so there was little time to think about it. He further commented that this very Constitution cannot accommodate the problems of a large and complex country such as Indonesia.

We should be very careful in dealing with Daniel's opinion. Daniel seems to be too hasty in making conclusions as far as the 1945 Constitution is concerned. He also has a lack of understanding of Indonesian history, especially when other constitution (the Provisional Constitution of 1950) was in operation. Actually, Daniel should thoroughly study the ideals of the 1945 Constitution before venturing into the idea of making a total change of it. Moreover, there is no guarantee that the new constitution will suit the aspirations of the people as a whole.

It should be understood that to change a constitution can be taken to mean to let the country disintegrate.

ARYANTI

Jakarta