Constitutional amendment eases central govt power

JAKARTA (JP): The People's Consultative Assembly endorsed on Friday the second constitutional amendment which significantly gives more power to regional administrations and the House of Representatives, but at the expense of the central government.

Through the amendment, the Constitution recognizes the wider autonomy of the provinces except for certain administrative affairs which will remain in the government's hands. The exception will be regulated further by the law.

Article 18B (1) says the state acknowledges that certain regional administrations by law deserve a special autonomy status. This refers to the government's plan to give the special autonomy status to the troubled but natural resource-rich provinces of Aceh and Irian Jaya by 2001.

For the first time, the state admits the rights of tribal communities in line with community development and without having to violate the principle of the unitary state (Article 18B (2)).

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) earlier warned that the proposal could trigger regionalism and separatist movements.

"We should be more careful of the amendment, especially on regional autonomy, to avoid federal demands or separatism," PDI Perjuangan senior legislator Abdul Madjid told the Assembly's Commission A for the amendment.

However, the commission members unanimously approved the article on the grounds that it would instead strengthen the unitary state and absorb the regional demands.

The role of the central government, especially some of the authority of the president, is also reduced and given to the House.

Unlike in the past, the president has to endorse a bill passed by the House. The bill will automatically take effect 30 days after the House approval, despite the absence of the president's endorsement (Article 20).

Flaws have marred the country's constitutional law over the past three years.

In the dying months of former president Soeharto's tenure in late 1997, a draft law on broadcasting was returned to the House which had passed it. But up to now, the bill has never taken effect.

The state security bill, passed by the House in November 1998, was not approved by former president B.J. Habibie, who succeeded Soeharto, until his term ended last October.

The constitutional amendment also gives more power to the House, as in its right to lodge interpellation motions, inquiries and express opinions, which are explicitly stated in Article 20A (2).

Those rights were only previously stated in the House's internal rulings.

The amendment was apparently aimed as a response to President Abdurrahman Wahid, who had claimed that the rights were unconstitutional and applied only in a parliamentarian system.

The amendment also inserted new chapters and articles into the Constitution, such as those relating to state territory and human rights.

Chapter XA on human rights, which consists of 10 articles, is one of the most significant changes to the Constitution.

Also for the first time, the Constitution explicitly recognizes basic human rights as part of its main contents, although in its preamble some of the rights are already mentioned.

But the chapter also incited controversy as it stipulates "freedom from charges of retroactive laws is a human right which cannot not be changed in whatever condition".

The public, human rights activists in particular, have expressed fear that the article could foil efforts to take perpetrators of past human rights abuses to justice.

The proposal was suggested by the Indonesian Military (TNI)/Police faction during a closed synchronization meeting of the Assembly's ad hoc committee for constitutional amendments at the Sheraton Bandara Hotel at the end of July.

Leading figure of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) Munir met Assembly Speaker Amien Rais recently and expressed his rejection of the article.

"Unfortunately, you come when the food has already been served," Amien told Munir.

Criticism also came from inside the Assembly for its failure to complete deliberations on all materials being prepared by the working committees.

Golkar Party legislator Slamet Effendy Yusuf regretted that certain factions prolonged their deliberations and prevented the Assembly from discussing all drafts of constitutional amendments.

"As I often said, a conservative force stays in the Assembly, so we could not agree even on drafts which had been approved earlier," Slamet, who is deputy chairman of Commission A, said on Friday.

Several proposals were not even discussed by Commission A, including the direct presidential election system, the establishment of the regional representatives council, general elections and the composition of the Assembly.

However, the Assembly agreed on Friday that all the drafts would be discussed by the Assembly's ad hoc committee and might be approved by 2002 at the latest. (jun)