Proamendment legislators dominate crucial commission
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) looks likely to endorse the fourth amendment to the Constitution after it selected on Saturday proconstitutional-reform legislators for the commission tasked with debating the crucial issue.
Leading the list are lawmakers known to be in favor of the amendment, including Jacob Tobing of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and Slamet Effendy Yusuf of Golkar Party.
The 239-strong Commission A comprises 59 legislators from PDI Perjuangan, 49 Golkar legislators, 22 legislators from the United Development Party and 17 legislators from the National Awakening Party. The Reform faction has 15 legislators, the Crescent Star six, the Indonesian Nation and Unity faction five, the Daulatul Ummah faction four, the Love the Nation Democratic faction one, and the Indonesian Military (TNI)/National Police faction 14.
There are also 16 regional representatives and 31 legislators from the Interest group faction in the commission.
Suwignyo of PDI Perjuangan, one of lawmakers who initiated opposition to the amendment, said on Saturday there were 20 legislators opposed to the amendment in the commission.
"Although we are small in number, we will keep voicing our views," Suwignyo said.
Fellow PDI Perjuangan legislators Amin Arjoso and Bambang Pranoto, who are known for their opposition to the amendment, will join Suwignyo in the commission.
Suwignyo claims to have won support from 110 PDI Perjuangan legislators.
The group earlier claimed that legislator Taufik Kiemas, who is the husband of PDI Perjuangan chairwoman and the country's President Megawati Soekarnoputri, threw his weight behind the move.
However, the party's faction in its general view on Friday asserted its support for the amendment process as far as it did not change the preamble of the 1945 Constitution.
Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung underlined that his party supported constitutional reform, urging the MPR to go ahead with the amendment.
"Just pass the amendment. If there are some flaws, we can fix them during the next constitutional amendment," said Akbar, who is also speaker of the House of Representatives.
The debate on the constitutional amendment heightened after the TNI suggested that the country revert to the 1945 Constitution if the current amendment process ended in deadlock.
Many feared the return to the old constitution would encourage authoritarianism, which would be counter to the current reform movement.
Megawati's father, founding president Sukarno, issued a decree stipulating the readoption of 1945 Constitution with full backing of the military in 1959 after lawmakers failed to endorse a new constitution. The decree marked the start of "Guided Democracy", which observers criticized as a defeat for democracy in the new country.
Legislator Sutradara Gintings of the Indonesian Nation and Unity faction dismissed on Saturday the possible deadlock, saying all factions had expressed their commitment to the amendment.