MPR to discuss new commission

JAKARTA: The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) is set to deliberate the establishment of the long-awaited Constitutional Commission, a new body mandated to carry out constitutional amendments.

The deliberation will start next month when the assembly ad hoc committee on constitutional amendment will collect inputs from experts and community groups on the issue.

Although the agreement to form the constitutional commission had been reached in August last year, MPR legislators only tried to outline the commission's composition five months later.

MPR legislator Asnawi Latif said on Tuesday that legislators had begun to focus on the commission.

"Starting in February, we will have a series of hearings with experts and non-governmental organizations," Asnawi added.

A source said that the lawmakers planned to visit Japan and Italy for a comparative study regarding the commission's establishment. -- JP