'Establishment of commission on constitution vital'

'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)