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.