Constitutional amendments not urgent: Jimly

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

The Constitutional Court president has said he was opposed to any plans to amend the Constitution in the near future, and instead suggested that the country stabilize the state system following four amendments in the last five years.

Jimly Asshidiqie warned that too many amendments of the Constitution, the highest law in the country, would only create problems instead of solving them.

"There were times when we had to amend (the Constitution), there were also times when we had to consolidate and implement it," Jimly told reporters on Monday on Bali, where he is on holiday. "Hopefully, there will be no more amendments. Four are enough."

He was responding to a proposal from the Regional Representatives Council for another amendment to the Constitution, which provides the new state institution a role complementary to the House of Representatives, although Council members -- as with those of the House -- were directly elected in the April polls.

Constitutional amendments require an approval from two-thirds of the People's Consultative Assembly, which is formed when the House and the Council gather for an annual session in August.

He said the proposal for an amendment was a cause for concern, because it might be driven by certain political interests.

Jimly warned that such a proposal would open the chance for new ideas that may not be in accordance with the established constitutional system.

"There must be a guarantee that the amendment will only accommodate new concepts that are relevant to our constitutional needs. But who knows?" Jimly said.

He said the nation had been facing problems following the past four amendments, as the changes were made in stages.

"If the Constitution is amended too often, it may disturb the efforts to stabilize our constitutional state system. It's up to the Assembly members to decide," said Jimly.

The Assembly has amended the Constitution four times since 1999, pursuant with the country's attempt to develop a full- fledged democracy after three decades under New Order authoritarian rule.

During its debut at an Assembly meeting in October to mark the transition of government, the Council proposed amendments to the Constitution in a bid to raise its status to equal the House.

The Constitution and Law No. 22/2003 on the composition of legislative bodies give the Council only a little legislative power, as it can only make suggestions to the House regarding the deliberation of bills on the state budget and regional autonomy, and are not involved in the deliberation process.

Recently, the Council lodged a challenged at the Constitutional Court over the selection of members of the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) by the House, but to no avail.

The Court ruled the selection was constitutional and did not need approval from the Council, which did not exist when the selection process took place.