MPR under fire over commission on constitution
MPR under fire over commission on constitution
JAKARTA (JP): The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has
been criticized for its reluctance to respond to President
Megawati Soekarnoputri's idea to establish an independent
commission tasked to amend the Constitution.
Megawati launched her idea in her State Address on Aug. 16.
Law experts and observers voiced their concern on Saturday
saying that the exclusion of the issue of the independent
commission from the MPR's working body's agenda at the coming MPR
annual session in November might affect constitutional reform.
"I hope that the President will be able to push her idea to
set up an independent commission for constitutional amendment so
that short-term political interests will not influence the
amendment process," a prominent expert on constitutional law Sri
Soemantri told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Another expert on constitutional law, Harun Al-Rasjid shared
Soemantri's opinion, saying that President Megawati Soekarnoputri
could push her idea through lawmakers of her Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan).
Harun said that support for Megawati's idea was expected from
all layers of society.
The MPR's working committee watered down an idea to establish
an independent commission for constitutional reform last
Wednesday when it excluded the issue from the agenda of its next
yearly session. The committee argued that there was no MPR
faction that proposed the idea.
It seems that the committee prefers the ad hoc subcommittee to
a new commission for the amendment of the Constitution.
Chairman of the Indonesian Legal and Human Rights Aid
Foundation (PBHI) Hendardi said that the MPR's stance toward
Megawati's idea indicated its ignorance of public feeling.
Strong criticism against the Assembly also came from NGOs
including the Coalition for a New Constitution, which consists of
among others, the Center for Electoral Reform (Cetro), Rector
Forum, Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), Women's Coalition,
Indonesia's Independent Commission for Election Monitoring (KIPP
Indonesia), the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) and the
National Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence
(Kontras).
"It is arrogant for members of the Assembly to reject the
idea," the NGO coalition announced in a statement.
Pessimism
Smita Notosusanto of Cetro expressed her hope that Megawati
would push the establishment of the independent commission.
But she expressed her pessimism that Megawati was not only
motivated by goodwill on the founding of the independent
commission for constitutional reform.
"She (Megawati) has expressed her support to establish the
commission, but we still do not know their original idea, because
lawmakers from her own party PDI-Perjuangan have different
opinions on the idea," Smita said.
She cited, as examples, Jacob Tobing (from PDI Perjuangan),
who chairs the ad hoc subcommittee, who turned down the idea.
Smita, however, expressed her concern that MPR speaker Amien
Rais and the Chairman of Golkar Party, Akbar Tandjung, had
rejected Megawati's idea.
Meanwhile, noted lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said that Megawati
was the key to the founding of the commission. However, he said
he had not yet been well informed about the real idea of the
commission.
"She (Megawati) must clarify what kind of a commission she
means as what we really need is an independent commission to
completely revise our constitution," Todung told the Post. (02)