Constitutional team 'must be free from politicians'

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)