MPR, DPR leadership separation agreed
JAKARTA (JP): After lengthy, tough negotiations, Golkar finally relented and agreed to support the proposed separation of the leadership of the House of Representatives (DPR) and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
Spokesman Din Syamsuddin said on Thursday that Golkar's MPR faction agreed to support the draft decree on the separation because it wished to see the empowerment of the MPR as the highest state institution. The body's task is to prepare the State Guidelines and to elect a president and vice president.
"For Golkar, a separation of the MPR leadership from the House's leadership which is being discussed by the Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee I, is (acceptable) provided it is aimed at empowering both the DPR and MPR," Din said.
Rambe Kamarulzaman and Syamsul Muarif, the faction's leaders on the committee, confirmed that Golkar supported the draft decree because they were convinced the campaign was to empower the two state institutions.
Syamsul warned, however, that the separation of the two institutions' leadership could provoke unhealthy competition, as happened in 1968.
Golkar, the majority faction on the ad hoc committee, originally opposed the draft decree, which was proposed by the United Development Party (PPP) and Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) factions, because 50 percent of MPR members were also DPR members.
Rambe said his faction would also heed public aspirations that the general election, planned for next May, should be run by an independent election commission.
"Our faction is committed to a fair general election which will be run by an independent commission whose members will represent political parties and non-governmental organizations,' he said, adding that the election should be held in May, or June at the latest.
He said his committee expected to finalize the draft decree on general elections in a few days.
The deadline given to the committee to discuss all ten draft decrees proposed by the five factions is Oct. 1, 1998.
Poedjono Pranyoto, chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly's Working Committee, praised the ad hoc committees for the speedy prepare the drafts which are to be submitted to the Assembly's special session in Nov.
"It is a pleasant surprise that the two committees have completed their discussions on a number of draft decrees. Ad Hoc Committee I is also close to finishing its discussion on general elections while Ad Hoc Committee II is preparing the special session's agenda," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
He said Ad Hoc Committee I -- in charge of reading the 10 draft decrees -- had agreed to accept two decrees on limiting the presidential term of office and the president's extraordinary powers.
Ad Hoc Committee II has also discussed 13 draft decrees and agreed to submit six of them to the Assembly's special session.
Among the six are decrees on human rights, guidelines of development reform and the lifting of decrees on the 1998/2003 State Policy Guidelines, subversion and referendums.
Poedjono said the Assembly's Working Committee would forward all draft decrees accepted by the ad hoc committees, to the Assembly special session to be held from Nov. 10 throughout Nov. 13, 1998. (rms)