Hamzah calls for prudence in amending Constitution
Hamzah calls for prudence in amending Constitution
Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Vice President Hamzah Haz said on Friday that deliberation on
the amendment to the Constitution should proceed, but insisted
that articles concerning the nation's founding principles be left
untouched.
He suggested that the amendment be limited to articles
concerning the people's welfare and education while the
preamble, the articles on religious affairs and those related to
principles of the nationhood should remain as they are.
"We should amend the Constitution with prudence, especially
when it comes to articles which have become the foundation of the
nation," Hamzah was quoted as saying by chairman of the Central
Board of the Indonesian Islamic Students Movement (PMII), Nusron
Wahid, who met the Vice President on Friday.
Hamzah had earlier suggested that the amendment exclude
Article 33 on the country's economic system. The article promotes
social equity and well-being.
Controversy has shrouded the amendment, with the People's
Consultative Assembly coming under fire for thinking of short-
term objectives. Some non-governmental organizations have
repeatedly suggested that the amendment of fundamental articles
be left to an independent commission.
There have been demands from certain groups for an end to the
amendment process on the grounds that it has tended to be an
overhaul of the Constitution.
Separately, Assembly speaker Amin Rais said the amendment
process had entered its final stage, therefore, it was already
too late to establish an independent commission.
He also questioned the sudden opposition to the amendment
process.
"If we halt the amendment process now, does that mean we then
return to the existing Constitution which has caused crises in
the state administration?" he said on the sidelines of a congress
being held by Nahdlatul Ulama youth wing Anshor here on Friday.
Amien called on the people to respect the amended
Constitution, which would be approved during the Assembly annual
session this August.
Among the contending issues in the amendment process is the
military and police faction's struggle to retain their seats in
the Assembly. The draft amendment says the faction will no longer
exist.
Others are concerned that radical-leaning Muslim groups will
also push for their own ideological agenda to demand for adoption
of Islamic law.
Anshor chairman Syaifullah Yusuf shared Hamzah's view, saying
that amending the constitution should not be rushed into with the
obsession of meeting the August deadline.
"No need to force the process, the parts that still require
further assessment could be finalized next year," Syaifullah, who
is also the National Awakening Party (PKB) secretary-general,
told reporters.
He also suggested that the Assembly allow more public
participation in the amendment process.
Thus far, only six of the targeted 18 articles have been
deliberated by the Assembly's ad-hoc commission in charge of the
constitutional amendment as the process has been plagued by
conflicting interests among legislators.