Commission rushes to finish study
Commission rushes to finish study
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta
Members of the Constitutional Commission rushed to finish their
work to provide congruence in the articles in the newly amended
Constitution and an academic study on Wednesday, raising concerns
that the final work would not be optimum.
Several members were still debating the substance of their
assessment despite the fact that the Constitutional Commission
has to report its work on Thursday to the People's Consultative
Assembly.
Former diplomat Hasyim Djalal criticized a description in the
academic study that stated that the province of Irian Jaya became
a province of Indonesia in 1962.
He said the agreement between Indonesia and the Netherlands in
1962 was signed to return the administration of Irian Jaya to
Indonesia.
"That is why it was called the UN Temporary Executive
Administration. That was not about sovereignty because the
sovereignty existed in 1945," he told a plenary meeting of the
Constitutional Commission on Wednesday.
He also criticized the fact that the Regional Representatives
Council (DPD) represented provinces instead of regencies.
Such an idea, he said, would only provoke people in sub-
districts to demand representatives in the DPD.
Bambang Sutrisno, another commission member, acknowledged that
there were several items that had not been settled.
He added that the commission would formally hand over its work
to the working body of the Assembly on Thursday. "But, possibly
we will spend more time to finish the unsettled items," Bambang
told The Jakarta Post last night.
Separately, Krisna Harahap blamed the Assembly for the
commission's failure to produce the desired constitution.
According to him, the 31-member commission could not work
optimally because the Assembly had not provided sufficient
guidance and direction to the commission.
An Assembly decree on the establishment of the commission
states that the commission is assigned to make a "comprehensive
assessment" of constitutional amendments.
"The mandate is not clear enough. I don't think I have done my
job well, but I believe I have struggled," he said.
After much debate on Wednesday, the Constitutional Commission
agreed to include freedom of the press in Article 28 of the
Constitution.
The original article says: The freedom of unity and assembly,
freedom of expression -- verbal and written -- are further
regulated by laws.
The proposal of the commission states: The freedom of unity
and assembly, freedom of expression -- verbal and written -- and
freedom of the press are guaranteed and regulated further by
laws.
Meanwhile, commission deputy chairman Albert Hasibuan
confirmed that the freedom of the press was put in Article 28 of
the Constitution.
He said that the commission would submit its final work on
Thursday.
"We will submit two scripts -- the academic study and the
congruity of the amendments," he told the Post after a
consultative meeting with some MPR leaders, including Amien Rais
of the National Mandate Party (PAN) and Ginandjar Kartasasmita of
Golkar.
Albert boasted that his commission had made congruent several
articles in the constitution and increased the number of articles
from 37 to 75.
The commission's plenary meeting on Wednesday decided to
revive the "two-round" presidential election system after earlier
proposing the adoption of a "simple majority election system".
The Assembly will receive the work of the commission and give
it to the new Assembly -- resulting from the April 5 election --
as input in making constitutional amendments. Therefore, the
final say still rests with the Assembly.