'Establishment of commission on constitution vital'

PEKANBARU, Riau (JP): Political observers based in Riau have voiced their agreement on the establishment of a commission to amend the 1945 Constitution, arguing that the Constitution deserved to be changed to meet recent popular demands.

Husnu Abadi, who is also a law expert at the Islamic University of Riau, said on Monday that President Megawati Soekarnoputri's idea on the setting up of the commission was acceptable, "but coordination with the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) is an imperative, because it is the MPR's Working Committee that has the right to decide on the revision of the Constitution.

"If the Assembly agrees, I hope that politicians outside the Assembly will be involved in the revision so that they can collect more new ideas from non-MPR sources," he said.

President Megawati disclosed her idea in her first State Address on Aug. 16 in Jakarta.

Observers have criticized the MPR for its sluggishness in responding to the President's idea, while speaker of the House of Representatives Akbar Tandjung has expressed his disagreement.

Asked about the sluggishness of the Assembly in responding to Megawati's idea, Husnu said that he was upbeat about the MPR's approval to the idea.

"We must think about the nation more seriously. Financial sharing between central government and the Riau administration has not yet been clarified," he cited.

Riau is one of the provinces that have been uneasy about the sharing of funds derived from regional revenues.

Sharing his opinion, another political observer, Fauzi Kadir criticized the President's wish to have the Constitution revised.

"The content of the Constitution does not correspond to popular opinion, such as the relations between central government and regional administrations," he said.

"If the 1945 Constitution is revised, regional (provinces and regency) aspirations should be accommodated properly, or the revision will mean nothing to the nation. People from the regions could provide valuable input, as they know what the regions really want and need."

Joining the chorus, speaker of the Riau Legislative Council Chaidir said that if the revision corresponded to public opinion, there were no reasons for any of the parties concerned to object.

"The MPR Working Committee has discussed this issue on an earlier occasion. Its members have also visited some of the provinces to accommodate local regional aspirations. The revision could start with the Working Committee's findings," he said.

"The question is does the amendment concept made by the MPR Working Committee contain the people's aspirations. What parts of the Constitution will be revised?"

"It all depends on the MPR, if it has not yet approved the idea there must be some reason and we should respect that."

Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of Makassar Polling Center, M. Darwis, said that the 1945 Constitution had several weaknesses.

"This could be seen during the recent political crisis when the political elite had their own interpretation of articles of the Constitution for the sake of their groups or parties, ignoring people's political rights."

"Therefore to build a new Indonesia, a constitution that could accommodate all people's political aspirations is badly needed. The new constitution will then become the foundation for the nation."

He suggested that a constitutional commission be established. "And the members of the commission should be independent individuals who have no interest in party politics." (37/27/sur)