Constitutional change needs referendum

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Constitutional Commission has scrapped the authority of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to amend the Constitution, arguing that the MPR as an institution will no longer exist.

"We have agreed to scrap the authority of the MPR (to amend the Constitution) because it will no longer be a permanent body, but a joint session between the House of Representatives and the Regional Representatives Council," Commission deputy chairman Albert Hasibuan told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Under the proposal, amendments to the Constitution should be made through a national referendum and endorsed by a joint session of the House and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD).

The commission was established by the Assembly last year to synchronize changes to the 1945 Constitution, which, according to experts, were rife with short-term political interests.

Any recommendations or changes to the Constitution, however, will still require approval from the Assembly in order to take effect. Decisions made by the commission may be overturned by the Assembly.

Currently, only the Assembly has the authority to amend the Constitution, allowing political interests to intervene in amendment attempts.

Following the adoption of a bicameral system through a series of constitutional amendments last year, the MPR, as it is now known, will be replaced by a joint session of the House and DPD, the Indonesian version of the United States Senate.

Apart from reducing the authority of the MPR, the commission is also proposing to cut the power of the newly established Constitutional Court.

Based on existing regulations, the court has the authority to review legislation that is against the spirit of the Constitution, settle disputes between state institutions, resolve election disputes and dissolve political parties.

The commission, however, propose to limit the authority of the Constitutional Court to reviewing legislation and regulations, while handing over other powers to the Supreme Court.

"We are still debating this issue," Albert said.

Surprisingly, the commission, which consists of 31 experts, also plans to scrap articles on human rights from the Constitution and to propose an article to declare international conventions as part of Indonesian legislation.

The commission proposes to discard articles on human rights, saying that these overlap with others.

While discarding these articles, the commission proposes a single article to read: "The state protects and promotes human rights and human liberty". International and regional conventions will take effect after being ratified by Indonesia.

Albert, however, stated the proposal to discard articles on human rights was still being debated by commission members.

Changes proposed by the Constitutional Commission

- Article 3 (1): MPR has the authority to amend the Constitution after a nationwide referendum.

- Article 19 (2): The tenure of House members should be five years; they can be reelected for one more term only.

- Article 22D (1): The DPD has the right to submit bills and deliberate the drafts with the House.

- Article 24C (1): The Constitutional Court has the authority to review legislation that contravenes the Constitution.

- Article 28A (1): The state protects and promotes human rights and human liberty. International and regional conventions will be taken into effect after being ratified.

Source: Constitutional Commission