Govt refuses to discuss presidency bill

Govt refuses to discuss presidency bill

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Lawmakers' hopes of endorsing the presidency bill during their
term dimmed after the government rejected on Wednesday the draft
unless it is overhauled.

Claiming that almost 70 percent of the draft contents are
outdated and contradict the amended 1945 Constitution, the
government said the bill should be dropped.

"The House should revise the draft in accordance with the
amended Constitution, otherwise the government will refuse to
discuss the bill," Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril
Ihza Mahendra said after a meeting with President Megawati
Soekarnoputri.

Current House of Representatives legislators will end their
terms in August. With preparations for legislative and
presidential elections consuming much of their time and energy,
the lawmakers will in practice have no time to overhaul the
presidency bill.

Yusril said there were no strong reasons for the House to push
for the bill's endorsement before the new president was elected.

"There is no urgent need for such a law and it will be a waste
of time to discuss a bill that totally contradicts the
Constitution," he said.

The bill had been in preparation by the House of
Representatives since 2001, but the government decided to
postpone the debate as the People's Consultative Assembly did not
finish the constitutional amendments.

Although the making of legislation rests with the House, the
Constitution requires that deliberation on a bill involve the
government.

After four amendments, the Constitution reduces the authority
of the president in some areas, but at the same time strengthens
the legitimacy of the head of state through the introduction of a
direct presidential election.

The amendments were completed in 2002, making the bill's
articles on presidential impeachment, presidential prerogative to
grant amnesty and other regulations related to presidential
powers irrelevant.

"We have gone through the draft over and over again, and we
decided that the draft does not merit further deliberation,"
Yusril said.

The minister said the President had asked him, Cabinet
Secretary Bambang Kesowo and State Minister for Administrative
Reforms Feisal Tamin to inform the House of the refusal to
deliberate the House-sponsored bill.

"We hope the House will agree to revise the draft bill,"
Yusril said.