Legal changes needed in new era

Legal changes needed in new era

By Mulyana W. Kusumah

JAKARTA (JP): Soeharto's obsession with political stability is
reflected in the current laws on politics.

The result is an array of the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR) decrees and legislation tailored to maintain political
stability, but failing to abide by the people's sovereignty.

These legal instruments, while serving their master well, had
an adverse effect on political attitude, structure and culture.
With the lapse of time, the bureaucratic authoritarian regime
became increasingly stronger and democratic institutions not only
lost their function but also changed their roles to complement
the regime's power.

Now that Soeharto has resigned, the pressure for democratic
reform has become stronger. Such a change has become a historical
necessity.

In this context it is absolutely necessary to have legal
reform with the following priorities:

First, the revocation or at least a review of a number of MPR
decrees of which the spirit and the contents are contrary to the
objectives of democratic reform.

Apart from the necessity to change MPR decrees, the revocation
of a number of MPR decrees is also required.

For example, MPR decree No. III/1998 on general elections
needs to be renewed immediately. By doing so we can accomplish a
number of things, including clearly determine the function of
democratic elections, organizers and supervisors, and recognize
monitoring agencies and expand the number of political parties.

Also, the number of appointed MPR members as well as House of
Representatives members can be put at a minimum, like for
example, 10 percent of a total of 1,000 members.

Second, the enactment of a number of basic laws enshrining
articles of the 1945 Constitution for a reference to the making
of laws for political and economic democratization.

There is a need to make more enlightening basic laws on the
freedom to associate, to assemble and of expression based on the
Constitution as a basis to enact new laws on political parties,
mass organizations, NGOs, general elections, the press,
broadcasting.

As a juridical reference for economic democratization, there
is a need to elaborate Article 33 of the Constitution as a basis
for the making of a number of laws, like on antimonopoly,
cooperatives, the protection of small-scale businesses and
others.

Third, the revocation of a number of legislative products
which have become tools of repression and restrict the freedom to
associate, assemble and of expression, like Law No.11/PNPS/1963
on subversion, Law No.5/PNPS/1963 on political activities and
various articles of the penal code like the articles on
antigovernment offenses (haatzaai artikelen).

No less important is the revocation of a number of
presidential decrees made on the basis of the President's extra-
constitutional power, like the presidential decree on the
establishment of the Agency for the Coordination of Support for
the Development of National Stability (Bakorstanas), an
extrajudicial institution that plays a very decisive role in
political life and security approach implementation.

Fourth, the establishment of basic laws on state institutions,
which are the basis for the law on the composition and position
of the MPR/DPR, the law on the presidential institution (that
regulates the president's domain of authority and accountability,
also term of office) and others.

Fifth, the making of new laws to ratify a number of
international instruments with a high level of universality
(already ratified by more than 100 countries) like, among others,
the antitorture convention.

The MPR extraordinary session to be held either at the end of
this year or early next year, should also ask for Soeharto's
accountability in addition to revoking the two MPR decrees on the
former president and the former vice president.

Another priority to be tackled by the extraordinary session
should be the establishment of the principles for the
implementation of Article 28 of the Constitution as a basis for
political development, and at the same time a revision of the
1998 State Policy Guidelines.

The writer is a lecturer at the School of Sociopolitical
Science, University of Indonesia, and secretary-general of the
Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP).