President to have power to veto draft laws

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Constitutional Commission (KK) is considering granting the president authority to veto bills that he or she deems to be unfavorable to the nation.

Commission deputy chairman Albert Hasibuan said such a power would promote the checks and balances between the executive and legislative branches.

Hasibuan said fellow commission members had agreed to the idea of giving the president the power to veto draft bills.

"We are now trying to finish the wording. We have accepted the idea," he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Hasibuan criticized the current stipulation in the Constitution, which gives a great deal of power to the House of Representatives in the law-making process.

Article 20 (5) of the Constitution stipulates that all draft bills already endorsed by the House automatically go into effect 30 days after their approval, with or without the signature of the president.

Albert said this created an imbalance of power between the president and the House, preventing the system of checks and balances from working properly.

At least three laws went into effect without the authorization of the President. Those were Law No. 32/2002 on broadcasting, Law No. 25/2002 on the establishment of the Riau Islands province and Law No. 17/2003 on state finances.

All bills, either those drafted by the government or by the House, are deliberated by both the government and legislators in the House.

Hadimulyo, a member of the Constitutional Commission, acknowledged that several commission members had floated the idea of giving the president veto power over draft bills.

"But I think we have not officially agreed on that issue. That issue is still being debated," he told the Post.

Although the commission has the task of synchronizing amendments to the Constitution, the final say belongs to the People's Consultative Assembly. The commission will report to the Assembly in April.

The Assembly set up the long-awaited commission on Oct. 7 last year to harmonize the amendments to the 1945 Constitution, which, according to some analysts, are weakened by compromises designed to favor short-term political interests.

The commission, which has 31 members, has seven months to complete its work.

Speaking after the Constitutional Commission's establishment last year, Assembly Speaker Amien Rais said the commission's assessments would not be binding, but pledged to use the findings to improve the Constitution.

"We hope the results will be good and that Assembly members will accept the outcome," Amien said.