Independent commission still being sought
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Dozens of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) criticized on Thursday the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) for its reluctance to establish an independent constitutional commission tasked to amend the Constitution.
The organizations, grouped in the NGOs Coalition for New Constitution, said although all factions in the Assembly realized the importance of the commission, they were still reluctant to meet the public demand.
"We believe that the Assembly's Annual Session is the moment to make a decision in the establishment of the independent constitutional commission ... We hope that the Assembly will make the future of the nation their priority," said a statement read during a press conference on Thursday.
Major parties in the Assembly have agreed to the formation of the constitutional commission. But this issue is not included in drafts of decisions prepared for the Annual Session taking place from Nov. 1 to Nov. 10.
In the statement, read by Binny Buchori of the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (Infid), the coalition stressed the need for a comprehensive reform of the 1945 Constitution.
The coalition said that a constitutional amendment carried out by the Assembly's ad hoc committee would not be able to accommodate participation by the people.
"This means the Constitution will only be understood by the elite group, not by the people," it said, adding that the failure to create the commission would only prolong constitutional crisis which may cause continuous political conflict.
Meanwhile, Hadar N. Gumay of the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro), stressed that a direct presidential electoral system, agreed to by all Assembly factions, still raised questions.
"We still do not know what kind of system. If the two-stage electoral system is still used, in this current political condition, our next president will be elected again by the Assembly not directly by the people," said Hadar.
With the two-level election system, if a winning candidate cannot collect 50+1 percent of votes, the president would be decided by the Assembly.
"It is unlikely now that a candidate will win 50+1 percent votes based on experience in the latest general elections," according to Hadar.
The coalition members among others include Cetro, Infid, the Research Institute and People Advocacy (Elsam), the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), the Independent Journalist Association (AJI) and the Institute for Social Engineering (INSE).