MPR, DPR leadership separation agreed

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)