MPR special session will dig into meaty issues

MPR special session will dig into meaty issues

By Ridwan Max Sidjabat

JAKARTA (JP): Clean government. The presence of Armed Forces
representatives at legislative bodies. Limitation to presidential
terms.

Those are among the issues that will be deliberated at the
Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) on
Nov. 10-13. They are the benchmark with which the public will
judge the body's seriousness in campaigning for reform, and also
the most likely to cause fierce debates.

Why heated debates? Because the factions at the Assembly were
still divided on many issues related to the general elections
next year, and on whether the Assembly should issue a decree to
warrant investigation into corrupt and nepotistic practices
during former president Soeharto's 32-year administration.

Debates are also expected when the legislators deliberate an
Assembly draft decree seeking to maintain the presence of the
Armed Forces in the House of Representatives as well as the
Assembly.

Poedjono Pranyoto, chairman of the Assembly's Working
Committee, acknowledged the question of Armed Forces (ABRI) in
the legislative bodies had been a source of controversy
nationwide following the revelations of military atrocities under
Soeharto's New Order regime.

"ABRI has defended its renewed role in politics while many
groups in society have called for an end to it. The 1,000-member
Assembly is expected to make a wise decision on the fate of
ABRI's dual function," said Poedjono, who is also a retired Army
major general.

Chozin Chumaidy of the United Development Party (PPP) vowed
his faction would continue its fight against ABRI representation
in the House of Representatives.

"We never understood why ABRI was represented in the
legislative bodies and played such an important role in the
administration since it was set up to deal with defense and
security affairs," he said.

Andi Matalatta, the chairman of Golkar faction in the House,
begged to differ. He said it was "too dangerous" to ask ABRI
Forces to withdraw completely from the legislative bodies.

"The withdrawal should be gradual and in phases. We still need
the military in the legislature ... though their number should be
reduced," he said.

Andi argued the military was needed there to prevent the
bodies from launching a coup, especially during the current
chaotic political situation.

The House currently allocates 75 seats to the military, but
was now discussing a reduction to 55.

Are there areas where the legislators have agreed during their
preliminary sessions in September?

Yes, Poedjono said. All of the five Assembly factions -- ABRI,
Golkar, PPP, Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), and Regional
Representatives -- were of the same opinion that the polls next
May or June should be run by an independent committee and held on
a holiday in a fair and democratic manner.

"The general election should be fair and democratic in order
to improve the image of the House/Assembly and to elect a
'legitimate president' in the Assembly's 1999 general session,"
said Poedjono, who is also deputy Assembly speaker.

The factions have also agreed to let the House deliberate the
fine points and technicalities of matters pertaining to the
general elections in their reading of three political bills.

Status

Poedjono said Assembly decrees have unique status in the legal
system because they are inferior to the 1945 Constitution but
superior to laws, government regulations and presidential
decrees.

"Firstly, I must stress that MPR decrees have their own
quality and status as compared to laws and regulations," he said.
"As the highest state institution, the Assembly issues
decrees ... which are general in nature. Those decrees must be
implemented by the government.

He said only the People's Consultative Assembly has the
authority to amend the Constitution and issue decrees, while the
lower House of Representatives is in charge of legislation and
conducting judicial reviews.

Accountability

The Assembly Ad Hoc Committee I -- which was in charge of
preparing and deliberating the draft decrees in September's
sessions -- has agreed on the need to issue a decree on clean
governance.

This particular decree, however, was a replacement of the
previously sought proposal to investigate Soeharto's fortune and
that of his cronies, as well as to demand that he be held
accountable. This motion was initiated by PPP, PDI and Regional
Representatives factions.

The dominant Golkar and ABRI refused the proposals, arguing
that the issue was under the aegis of the Attorney General's
Office.

Syamsul Ma'arif of Golkar said the issue of the New Order's
corruption could be brought to the special session but no special
decree was needed to regulate it.

PPP, PDI and Regional Representatives factions have said that
they would again raise the issue in the special session, citing
public expectation that the government investigates Soeharto, his
family and cronies in business and administration.

The three factions said they would still demand Soeharto's
accountability for his three-month administration from March 11,
1998 before he resigned on May 21, 1998.

Meanwhile, the draft decree on clean governance stipulates a
proportional share of power among all state institutions,
including Assembly and the House to prevent a centralization of
power, corruption, collusion and nepotism.

It stipulates all government officials, including presidents
and vice presidents, disclose to the public their personal wealth
and have it audited by an independent institution to be
established by the president.

The following are the other draft decrees to be read and
adopted by the Assembly:
* Draft decree on the amendment of Assembly's internal rules
which seeks to introduce substantial changes in the body if the
planned separation of its leadership from the House materializes.

If endorsed, the decree would ensure that the Assembly's
Working Committee will work throughout its five-year tenure
rather than for only three months as it did in the past.
* Draft decree on separation of Assembly leadership from the
House's which is aimed at empowering both houses. All of the five
factions agreed on the motion.

"The current single leadership of the two state institutions
has in fact been manipulated by the New Order regime to turn the
bodies into mere rubber stamps," said Poedjono, who was twice
governor of Lampung under Soeharto. "The proposed decree would
prevent such a situation in the future."
* Draft decree to lift the 1983 Assembly decree on referendum
opens the possibility of amending the 1945 Constitution in the
future.

Poedjono said ABRI -- which had in the past been campaigning
against changes to the Constitution -- had agreed to submit the
decree for deliberation at the Assembly's special session.

"The ABRI faction finally agreed with the draft decree on the
condition that no changes to the Constitution will be proposed
during the special session, nor should there be any motion to
replace the Pancasila state ideology with another," he said.
* Draft decree on development reform guidelines will replace the
Broad State Guidelines (GBHN) adopted during the March 1998
General Assembly and was meant to stay in place until 2003.

"This new guideline, known as mini GBHN among legislators,
will stipulate important issues in political, economic, legal and
cultural fields that the government must observe during this
transition period from November 1998 until the Assembly's General
Session in December 1999," he said.

He said the mini-guideline is focused on economic reform to
help defuse the crisis.
* Draft decree to lift the 1998 decree on the granting of an
extraordinary power to president, which was proposed by the PPP,
PDI and Regional Representatives factions who argued that a
president did not need any extra power in running the
administration, has won the support of Golkar and ABRI.

Reliable sources said Golkar contrived to give birth to the
March 1998 decree in order to provide Soeharto with extraordinary
power so he could crush all movements against his regime.
* Draft decree to lift the 1978 Assembly decree on Propagation
and Implementation of Pancasila was proposed to stop the current
propagation programs which critics said were not effective in
raising people's awareness of the state ideology.
* Draft decree on the limitation to presidential and vice
presidential terms of office was proposed to avoid
misinterpretations of the Constitution's article on the subject,
and to boost democratization.

The PPP and PDI factions -- which proposed the draft decree
and won the other factions' support -- argued that Article 7 of
the 1945 Constitution had been abused by Soeharto to perpetuate
his power and thus weaken democracy throughout his
administration.

Soeharto had maintained his post for seven consecutive five-
year periods although the Constitution limited the presidential
and vice presidential terms to only two five-year terms of
office.
* Draft decree on regional autonomy was proposed to give
greater autonomy in politics and financial management to regions.

Din Syamsuddin, deputy chairman of the Golkar faction at the
Assembly, said the draft decree -- proposed by PPP, PDI, Regional
Representatives and Golkar factions -- was aimed at giving a fair
share between the central government and regional administration
in natural resources.

"In the past, the exploitation of natural resources in regions
or provinces had benefited only the central government and failed
to improve people's welfare.

"For example, Aceh, Riau, South Sumatra and Irian Jaya which
are rich with natural resources such as oil, gas, copper and gold
deposits, should enjoy a larger share of the profits from mining
activities," he said.

"It is unfair and ironic that the Irian Jaya provincial
administration, for example, has been given only one percent of
the profit PT Freeport Indonesia gained from its copper and gold
mining activities in the province," he said.
* Draft decree on human rights was proposed by the PPP and PDI
factions, and won the support of the other factions.

"Human rights became urgent because of the rampant violations
especially in Aceh, Java, East Timor and Irian Jaya in the past,"
said Ismunandar of PDI.

Chosin hailed the draft decree because it gives instructions
to authorities to respect and uphold human rights.

The draft decree also recommends the House to establish a law
on human rights and on the role of the National Commission on
Human Rights so it has greater authority in carrying out its
mission.

Chosin said his faction failed to introduce such a decree in
the Assembly's General Session last March because ABRI and Golkar
fought it.

"There will be no democracy without human rights and, in the
future, all individuals and groups in society should be
accustomed to differences of opinion," he said.

*Draft decree on politics in democratic economy was proposed
to promote a people-oriented economy and small- and middle-scale
enterprises, prevent a concentration of wealth in the hands of a
small group of people and to narrow disparities in society.

The draft decree bans monopolies. It also stipulates the
central bank's independence and regulates foreign loans by the
government and the private sector.

According to the draft decree, foreign loans by the government
must get approval from the House and the government is obliged to
monitor foreign loans by the private sector so that they will not
overburden the people.