Indonesia's constitutional history minefield of confusion
Indonesia's constitutional history minefield of confusion
Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The 1945 Constitution (UUD 1945) has gone through at least
seven crucial phases since it was endorsed by the Preparatory
Committee for Indonesian Independence (PPKI) on Aug. 18, 1945,
just one day after the Declaration of Independence.
The original Constitution, which consisted of a preamble and
37 articles, was drafted by the country's founding fathers,
including Sukarno, Mohamad Hatta, Wachid Hasjim, Maria Ulfah,
Latuharhary Iwa Kusuma Sumantri and Chairul Saleh.
Since the beginning, the founding fathers had intended that
the Constitution would serve as a temporary Constitution given
the state of war the country found itself in at the time.
The second crucial moment was the adoption of the constitution
of the United States of the Republic of Indonesia (UUD RIS) when
the country became a federal state as a consequence of the Round
Table Conference (KMB) between Indonesia and the Dutch on Oct.
23, 1949.
The UUD RIS, which consisted of 197 articles, was only applied
between 1949 and 1950, when the country returned to being a
unitary state on April 15, 1950.
The return to a unitary state marked the third phase in the
country's constitutional history, with the adoption of the
provisional constitution (UUD Sementara), which consisted of 146
articles. Under the provisional constitution, the government was
led by a prime minister. Sukarno and Mohamad Hatta still served
as the country's President and Vice President while Muslim
scholar M. Natsir was appointed as the country's first prime
minister.
Based on the provisional constitution, the country held in
1955 the first general election that was widely considered as
being democratic.
The Indonesian National Party (PNI) was the winner of the
election, followed by the Masyumi Party, the Nahdlatul Ulama
Party and the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).
The general election, which was also participated in by
members of the Indonesian Military (TNI), was to select members
of the House of Representatives and the Constituent Assembly.
The Assembly was tasked with drafting a new constitution, a
task Sukarno and the military eventually deemed it to have to
failed to perform. Sukarno, who was supported by military chief
Gen. A.H. Nasution, then issued a decree declaring a return to
the 1945 Constitution.
Under Soeharto, who toppled Soekarno in 1966, Indonesia not
only maintained the 1945 Constitution but also started to treat
it as something akin to sacred.
The Constitution entered its fifth crucial phase in 1999 after
Soeharto was forced to resign on May 21, 1998. The People's
Consultative Assembly, whose members were elected during the 1999
general election, amended nine articles of the 1945 Constitution.
The most important change brought about by the first series of
amendments was the limit on the number of terms a president may
serve to two five-year terms from the previously unlimited number
of terms.
The sixth pivotal phase was the second series of amendments to
the 1945 Constitution which were passed by the MPR in August
2000. The Assembly amended and added some 25 articles during its
General Session. Regional autonomy and respect for human rights
were among the important issues covered by the amended articles.
The seventh and latest phase was the passage of the third
series of amendments introduced last year. One of the 23
additional articles provides for a direct presidential election.
The Constitution will enter another phase today with the
Assembly expected to focus on the fourth series of amendments,
which has created heated debate among the members of the
political elite.