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.