Direct election of House members supported
JAKARTA (JP): All People's Consultative Assembly factions, except for the Indonesian Military (TNI)/Police faction, during committee meetings here on Tuesday agreed that all of the House of Representatives must be directly elected through a general election.
In a session of an ad hoc committee, TNI/Police faction spokesman Hendy Tjaswadi suggested that Article 19 of the 1945 Constitution not be amended.
"We think that the Article could be maintained," Hendy said without giving further details.
It's not clear why the faction seems to be backtracking on the Indonesian Military's own commitment to leave the practical politics arena, or if the latest rejection is a ploy to gain political concessions.
According to Article 19, House members are installed by the law. The law, which is now still being revised, stipulates that House members are people who are directly elected along with members from TNI/Police who are appointed.
Other factions, such as the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Golkar Party, the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB), are supporting full election of House members.
PKB and the Societal Group Representatives faction even suggested that the House members be elected through a district system election.
"In the future, people would choose persons instead of political parties," PKB's spokesman Yusuf Muhammad said.
The Crescent Star Party faction spokesman Hamdan Zoelva said his party is proposing that the House be able to propose the dismissal of Cabinet ministers.
"If the ministers commit crimes, violate laws, the House should have a right to propose to the President to dismiss the ministers," Hamdan said.
KPU
In a separate development, the government and the House's Commission II for legal and domestic affairs agreed on Tuesday the general election bill which will be used to set up an independent general election commission (KPU).
The commission's working group chairman Ferry Mursyidan Baldan said that all factions in Commission II agreed that KPU should consist of 11 independent and non-partisan people.
"The number is varied, but we agreed that KPU should consist of 11 people," Ferry, who is also legislator from the Golkar party, said.
He said the bill, which will revise the current Law No. 3/1999 on general elections, states that the president would propose 22 candidates for KPU to the House who will then select the final 11.
The push to drive the bill through came after the current KPU became bogged down in party disputes and political wrangling.
In the same session on Tuesday, the House and the government also agreed that the composition of local councils in new regencies should be based on last year's general election result.
The current KPU has repeatedly said that it would like to conduct separate local elections for the new regencies.
The government and the House maintain that the new regencies are not ready for elections, saying that it would also be a waste of money and has the potential to disrupt stability. (jun)