Megawati, legislators at odd over commission

Megawati, legislators at odd over commission

Sri Wahyuni and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri locked horns on Wednesday with
legislators over the need to establish an independent
constitutional commission.

Closing a three-day seminar on the Constitution organized by
Kagama, Gadjah Mada University's alumni association, Megawati
said an institution comprising members with expertise, wisdom and
experience was needed to paint the big picture as regards the
constitutional amendment process.

But legislators rejected the proposal to set up a commission
to take over the process of amending the 1945 Constitution from
the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

They questioned the urgency for such a commission citing the
MPR's "proven competence" in updating the national charter.

"I don't think we need a constitutional commission. But, if
the fourth amendment ends up deadlocked, the establishment of
such a commission could become a possibility," said the chairman
of the assembly's ad hoc constitutional amendment committee,
Jacob Tobing, in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The assembly is slated to discuss the fourth raft of
amendments to the Constitution during its annual session in
August. The first series of amendments was made in October 1999,
the second in August 2000 and the third in November 2001.

Megawati said the big picture should include studies on which
parts of the Constitution needed amendment, the direction and
goals of the amendments, the consequences of the amendments, and
the formulation of the amendments themselves, Megawati said.

In short, she said, there should be an inventory of what
information should be disseminated to the people for their
approval.

"It was within this frame of understanding that I came out
with the idea of a constitutional commission," Megawati said.

"Whether it means that we need a referendum or whatever you
like to call it (to establish an independent constitutional
commission), we must comply with the principle of respecting the
people's rights," she added.

Megawati fought back her tears when mentioning the role of the
founding fathers in the formulation of the 1945 Constitution.

Another legislator, Yusuf Muhammad (National Awakening Party
-- PKB), said the idea of setting up such a commission had come
too late as all party leaders supported the amendments made by
the Assembly.

Golkar legislator Baharuddin Aritonang dismissed the proposal
as an outdated idea.

Three factions, the Megawati-led Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Golkar, and the National Awakening
Party had floated the idea of establishing a commission during
the assembly's 2000 Annual Session.

But what was proposed by the factions was diametrically
opposed to what had been proposed by scholars and activists who
had joined together in an coalition of NGOs to press for an
independent commission.

The three factions insisted that the commission should be
incorporated into the assembly's existing ad hoc commission,
while the NGO coalition demanded that the new commission have
full power to draft amendments.

According to the coalition proposal, the Assembly would have
to accept and approve the draft amendments. If the Assembly
rejected them, there would then be a national referendum so as to
give the public the last say.

Over the past months, the coalition has tirelessly campaigned
for the establishment of an independent constitutional
commission.

Some 300 students from Gadjah Mada University and activists
from the KAMMI Muslim students' association held a rally during
the closing ceremony carrying banners and posters condemning
Megawati as the killer of reform.

"Megawati's presence on the campus is nothing but an affront
to Yogyakarta students, who have been vocal and firm in demanding
reform," read a statement signed by the KAMMI Yogyakarta chairman
Imron Rosyadi.

The students said they were protesting the fact that Megawati,
whom they perceived to be an antireform figure, was the one who
received the results of the seminar.

The workshop came out with two options. First, to synchronize
and to systematize the previous three amendments and to consider
them as part of the Constitution during a transitional period.

Former Gadjah Mada University rector Ichlasul Amal seemed to
offer a middle way when he emphasized that the "synchronization
and the systematization" process did not necessarily mean the
annulling of the previous amendments.

Second, to amend Article 37 of the 1945 Constitution and set
up an independent constitutional commission to draft a
constitution within a year based upon public participation.

Article 37 stipulates that at least two-thirds of the People's
Consultative Assembly members should be present and that at least
two-thirds of the members should express their agreement before
the Constitution may be amended.

"We hope the August Annual Session will adopt the options we
have offered. That way they will avoid a possible deadlock,"
Ichlasul said.