Commission on Constitution possible: MPR

Commission on Constitution possible: MPR

Abu Hanifah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite the growing public demand for an independent
commission on the Constitution, Ad Hoc Committee II of the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has decided to exclude the
issue from the agenda of the upcoming MPR Annual Session, due to
start on Nov. 1, 2001.

Nevertheless, the independent commission on the Constitution
issue can still be taken up during the annual meeting, provided
that one or two MPR factions request it.

"Basically, we are still open to adopting public input on the
independent constitutional commission," Rambe Kamarulzaman, the
head of Ad Hoc Committee II, told a media briefing on Monday.

Ad Hoc Committee II, in charge of preparing the MPR decree
drafts to be endorsed during the Annual Session, has prepared
five MPR decree drafts.

The five drafts include those on the MPR's in-house rules and
proceedings; national ethics; a vision of the future of Indonesia
and the 2020 vision; the eradication and prevention of
corruption, collusion and nepotism; and land reform and natural
resources management.

Rambe said the committee decided to exclude the issue of an
independent constitutional commission since only the Assembly has
the authority to amend the country's Constitution.

"We don't see any urgency or relevance of forming an
independent constitutional commission. If the commission's task
is just to assist us in amending the Constitution, then what's
the difference with the job of the expert team already on the
committee," Rambe told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a
session between the Assembly and the editors' club.

Earlier, a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
and legal experts submitted a proposal to the MPR to form an
independent constitutional commission to amend the country's
Constitution.

The NGOs and legal experts feared that the absolute right to
amend the Constitution that is granted to the Assembly may be
prone to manipulation by political parties in the Assembly for
their own interests.

The proposal first received a positive response from the
United Development Party (PPP), the National Awakening Party
(PKB) and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) and Golkar Party in September. Later Golkar revoked
its support for the commission.

Rambe said if the MPR agreed to establish the commission, the
Assembly would have to revoke Decree No. 9/2000, which grants the
Assembly's working committee to prepare the amendment of the
Constitution.

Haidar Gumay, an advocacy director of the Center for Electoral
Reform (CETRO), lamented the Assembly's decision to exclude the
issue of an independent commission on the Constitution from the
agenda, saying lawmakers had played around with their own
promises and fooled the public.

"They agreed to include the constitutional commission issue in
the Annual Session, but now they have dropped their own plan,
effectively eliminating public trust in them," Haidar told the
Post on Monday.

Haidar said Assembly members misinterpreted the NGOs' demand.

The constitutional commission will surely differ from the Ad
Hoc Committee II's expert team, as the commission will have wide-
ranging authority in drafting the amendment, Haidar said. After
being prepared by the commission, the Assembly should only reject
or accept the draft amendment without any changes, he said.

"The people don't have a vested interest. What the public want
is a process that allows them to participate in the
constitutional amendment process," he said.