Megawati calls for limits to amendment
Megawati calls for limits to amendment
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)
chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri said on Tuesday the
constitutional amendment process should continue, but only for
low-level articles.
Megawati was quoted as saying by the party's secretary general
Sutjipto that the People's Consultative Assembly should refrain
itself from changing the four paragraphs in the preamble of the
1945 Constitution.
"The number of articles to be amended must be limited and we
will maintain the preamble of the constitution," Sutjipto said,
referring to the preamble which comprises the nation's
declaration of independence and the five principles of the state
ideology.
PDI Perjuangan has been criticized for its unclear stance with
regard to constitutional reform, among other items.
Leaders of the party admitted that there was an increasing
conservatism in the party which was represented by senior figures
who had expressed opposition to the constitutional amendment
process, including Abdul Madjid and Amin Aryoso.
The meeting on Tuesday was expected to result in an agreement
between the factions.
Jakob Tobing, a PDI Perjuangan member who heads the ad hoc
committee for amendments (PAH I), told the press after the
meeting that the party needed more discussion to reconcile the
different opinions among party members.
According to Jakob, the final stance of the party regarding
the amendment would be taken in June after six more sessions of
"brainstorming".
There were speculations among the public that the largest
party had been trying to halt the constitutional reform process.
But Sutjipto quickly denied the allegations, saying that the
cautiousness was aimed at creating only quality reform.
Separately, retired military officers on Tuesday visited to
the People's Consultative Assembly to demand a halt to the
constitutional amendment process, on the grounds that it had
sparked polemics which threatened national unity.
The delegation of the retired servicemen was led by former
vice president Gen. (ret) Try Sutrisno and former Armed Forces
chief/Minister of Defense Gen. (ret) Edi Sudrajat.
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)
chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri said on Tuesday the
constitutional amendment process should continue, but only for
low-level articles.
Megawati was quoted as saying by the party's secretary general
Sutjipto that the People's Consultative Assembly should refrain
itself from changing the four paragraphs in the preamble of the
1945 Constitution.
"The number of articles to be amended must be limited and we
will maintain the preamble of the constitution," Sutjipto said,
referring to the preamble which comprises the nation's
declaration of independence and the five principles of the state
ideology.
PDI Perjuangan has been criticized for its unclear stance with
regard to constitutional reform, among other items.
Leaders of the party admitted that there was an increasing
conservatism in the party which was represented by senior figures
who had expressed opposition to the constitutional amendment
process, including Abdul Madjid and Amin Aryoso.
The meeting on Tuesday was expected to result in an agreement
between the factions.
Jakob Tobing, a PDI Perjuangan member who heads the ad hoc
committee for amendments (PAH I), told the press after the
meeting that the party needed more discussion to reconcile the
different opinions among party members.
According to Jakob, the final stance of the party regarding
the amendment would be taken in June after six more sessions of
"brainstorming".
There were speculations among the public that the largest
party had been trying to halt the constitutional reform process.
But Sutjipto quickly denied the allegations, saying that the
cautiousness was aimed at creating only quality reform.
Separately, retired military officers on Tuesday visited to
the People's Consultative Assembly to demand a halt to the
constitutional amendment process, on the grounds that it had
sparked polemics which threatened national unity.
The delegation of the retired servicemen was led by former
vice president Gen. (ret) Try Sutrisno and former Armed Forces
chief/Minister of Defense Gen. (ret) Edi Sudrajat.