Regional reps set to have own faction in MPR

Regional reps set to have own faction in MPR

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Regional representatives in the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR) will finally be permitted to form their own faction when
the assembly gathers for its belated Annual Session next month.

It remains unclear, however, whether the new faction will be
formed at the start of the meeting, which opens on Nov. 1, or
toward the end, according to the head of the MPR committee
preparing the establishment of the faction.

The matter of when the faction is formed would be determined
on the opening day of the MPR Annual Session, Rambe Kamarulzaman,
the head of Ad Hoc Committee II told a media briefing on Monday.

Most factions had agreed in principle to the establishment of
the new faction, Rambe said.

The question of timing is all that remains, he added.

MPR Speaker Amien Rais, who chaired the briefing, said the
Annual Session would last between eight and 10 days, depending on
how soon the Assembly members could complete their work.

The MPR is scheduled to endorse the third series of amendments
to the 1945 Constitution, and at least five decrees. The decrees
relate to the MPR's in-house rules and proceedings; national
ethics; a vision of the future of Indonesia and the 2020 vision;
the eradication and prevention of corruption, collusion and
nepotism; and land reform and natural resources management.

Rambe did not rule out the possibility of other decrees in
addition to the five already prepared by his committee.

There had been rumors about the possibility of factions
proposing a decree on the establishment of a constitutional
commission and another on emergency measures to ensure economic
recovery.

Establishment of the regional representatives faction would be
accommodated in the new in-house rules and proceedings.

The 130 regional representatives at the 700-strong MPR
represents a potentially powerful block, but in the absence of
their own faction, their voices, and votes, had been
redistributed between the political factions at MPR proceedings.

The representatives, who were democratically elected, have
demanded their own faction, arguing that the political factions
were still too dominated by the interests of Jakarta-based
politicians and often failed to represent the aspirations of the
people in the regions.

Rambe cautioned that some existing MPR factions still had
reservations about the establishment of a new regional
representatives faction.

The regional representatives faction would become the third
non-partisan faction in the MPR along with the faction for
interest groups and the Indonesian Military/National Police
faction.

The draft decree on Vision 2020 calls for the development of a
society that is religious, united, democratic, just, prosperous,
advanced and governed by a clean and good state.

The draft decree on the prevention of corruption calls for the
enactment of various items of legislation dealing with such
issues as the establishment of an anti-corruption commission, a
witness and victim protection program, organized crimes and money
laundering.

The decree for national ethics calls for a code of ethics in
politics, business, law enforcement and science.

Slamet Jusuf Effendi, the head of the First Ad Hoc Committee
debating the constitutional amendment, said there had already
been a widespread consensus about using a direct presidential
election system and about the introduction of a regional council
that would function more or less like a senate.

Slamet said the proposed amendment would also expand the scope
of areas of impeachable offenses against the president beyond
merely political offenses as in the current Constitution.

The current MPR succeeded in impeaching President Abdurrahman
Wahid in July, paving the way for the rise of Megawati
Soekarnoputri.

For I-box

Decrees to be endorsed

at MPR Annual Session

1. Third series of constitutional amendments

2. New MPR rules and proceedings

3. National ethics

4. Vision of future Indonesia, including Vision 2020

5. Eradication and prevention of KKN

6. Land reform and natural resource management