People unaware of new Constitution

JAKARTA: A series of visits by members of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to provinces revealed that local residents did not clearly understand amendments to the 1945 Constitution.

At least five teams were sent to ten cities throughout the country between May 5 and May 9 to disseminate the results of the amendment to the Constitution and to get input on plans to form a constitutional commission.

The five teams were sent to Surabaya and Jember in East Java, Yogyakarta, Mataram in West Nusa Tenggara, Bandung in West Java, Ambon in Maluku, Palembang in South Sumatra, Padang in West Sumatra, Makassar in South Sulawesi, and Jayapura in Papua.

Sutjipno Tjokrosurojo, who visited Yogyakarta and Mataram, said Thursday that some people asked him why the Broad Guideline of State Policies (GBHN) was scrapped.

People did not understand that the adoption of a direct presidential election had made the GBHN outlined by the House useless.

Other legislators said that people in the regional administrations were unable to differentiate the amended Constitution from the original one. -- JP