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.