Constitutional team 'must be free from politicians'

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Politicians should not be included on the proposed constitutional commission, otherwise the country would have an amended constitution laden with political interests, scholars warned on Thursday.

Political expert Ichlasul Amal from Gadjah Mada University here, constitutional law expert Suwoto Mulyosudarmo from Surabaya-based Erlangga University, state administration law expert Muchsan of Gadjah Mada University, and Purwokerto's Soedirman University rector Rubiyanto Misman, all agreed that politicians must be barred from appointment to the commission.

Amal said that the People's Consultative Assembly's (MPR) Ad Hoc Committee I in charge of amending the constitution had proved that relying on the Assembly would not result in popular amendments.

"That's because the committee is comprised of people from the political parties, whose interests are very party-oriented," he said.

Therefore, he said, the suggestion to establish an independent commission must be supported, but the public must continue to pressure the Assembly to keep the commission free of politicians.

Amal did not agree with a suggestion that the commission should comprise of experts and politicians with reputed credibility. He also disagreed with the notion that experts prepare a draft to be debated by the Assembly.

"For us, this time, there is no middle ground. We have to choose either way. If we combine the two components, meaning let professionals prepare the draft and then party men discuss it, it will never be concluded," he said.

Rubiyanto Misman agreed, saying that the public could not trust politicians to undertake the enormous task of amending the Constitution, as they were all prejudiced by short-term political interests.

"It is impossible for politicians to be fair in their work. At the most, they would work fifty-fifty: half for the nation, the other half for their own parties," Rubiyanto said.

He said that those sitting on the commission could have credibility and expertise relating to any field, and could not side with any party.

Suwoto agreed, saying that a priority for commission members must be that they are not affiliated with any political organization. He said that they could also be experts from various fields and not necessarily constitutional law experts.

He also suggested that the commission accommodate representatives from all provinces, through a predetermined selection process.

Citing a similar commission established in Thailand as an example, Suwoto said that its 99 members included 78 representatives from all of Thailand's 78 provinces. They worked independently under the supervision of the parliament.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri floated the idea of establishing an independent constitutional commission during her state-of-the-nation address on Aug. 16.

MPR Speaker Amien Rais responded positively to the concept, but said that the commission must be established by the Assembly as only the MPR has the right to amend the Constitution.

Amien, nevertheless, agreed that non-partisan professionals and experts, and not politicians, should be recruited as members of the commission.

State administration law expert Muchsan agreed with Amien's view that the commission must be established by the Assembly, but suggested that the Assembly must give greater authority to the commission to amend the Constitution.

Amal supported Muchsan's proposal and said that, if possible, the Assembly must be freed from any responsibility to amend the Constitution, and leave it to the commission to pursue the necessary changes.

Under such a scheme, the commission's draft amendment would then be presented to the Assembly for approval or rejection. The Assembly would not be permitted to debate or alter the submission.

"Don't let the MPR make any changes to it, otherwise it will only end up heading in a pointless direction," Amal remarked.

Alternatively, Amal suggested that the MPR be dissolved before the commission amended the Constitution. He said that, as long as the MPR continued to exist with legislators of the current caliber, it would be difficult to achieve the amendments appropriate for the 1945 Constitution.

"If I may suggest, I would like to have the MPR dissolved and a direct presidential election held. That would make it easier for us to pursue the amendments," he said. (swa/45/nur)