Constitution amendment: Important but no rush

Constitution amendment: Important but no rush

Messy is the impression we get on the changes to the 1945
Constitution which has been amended four times since the People's
Consultative Assembly's session in 1999.

It is important and urgent to amend the Constitution and it
should be completed during the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR)'s annual meeting next August. But, on the other hand, the
amendment should not be carried out in a rush or sloppily. Things
must be carried out carefully.

The (current) fourth amendment of the Constitution now becomes
a central agenda (for the Assembly) as the previous three changes
have yet to end the amendment program.

The fourth amendment of the Constitution is crucial and must
be completed in time. Why? Because the coming general election
will take place in 2004, and -- therefore -- basic things,
including the elections of president and vice president, the
position of the Assembly, and the making of laws, which will be
used as stand points for various bills, must be finished
immediately.

What will happen if we cannot finish them in time? Will the
national political system stop? Or we have no choice but to
return the (original) 1945 Constitution with all of its
implications on the presidential election, position of the MPR,
and general election.

-- Kompas, Jakarta