Scholars join opposition to constitutional amendment

Scholars join opposition to constitutional amendment

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A group of scholars have urged the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR) to stop the current process of constitutional amendment,
arguing that the series of amendments implemented by the ad hoc
committee for amendment of the Constitution (PAH I) had been out
of proportion.

"In order to avoid constitutional problems in our
administrative system, we would urge Assembly members to stop the
current amendment process," said the scholars' spokesman,
Sadjarwo, during a meeting with House deputy speaker Soetardjo
Soerjogoeritno here on Monday.

The scholars included constitutional expert Sri Soemantri,
Usep Ranawijaya, Budi Harsono, A.S. Tambunan and Sri Mulyono
Herlambang.

Pro-reform activists have also criticized the amendments
which, according to them, are full of political compromises among
the big political parties.

The activists have also called for the establishment of an
independent commission to replace the ad hoc committee so as to
ensure that constitutional amendments are free from the effects
of the power struggle among the country's elite.

The call has been ignored as it has no legal foundation. Under
the law as it stands, only MPR members have the right to amend
the country's Constitution.

Since January 2002, the 48 members of the ad hoc committee
have been focusing on amending articles relating to religion,
education, composition of the Assembly, and economic affairs.

The fourth amendment was scheduled to be the last in a series
of amendments to the Constitution.

The scholars pointed at the third amendment last year which,
according to them, had altered the administrative system
initiated by the founding fathers.

The original version of Article 1 (2) of the 1945 Constitution
reads: "Sovereignty resides with the people and is given effect
by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)". The article was
amended in October last year so as to now read as follows:
"Sovereignty resides with the people and is given effect based on
the Constitution."

The scholars claimed that the amendment contradicted the
preamble of the 1945 Constitution which says that Indonesia
adopts "democracy which is guided by the inner wisdom of
unanimity arising out of deliberation among representatives".

"Legally, the amendment had caused confusion as regards the
form and sovereignty of the state. The principal difficulty was
the that MPR no longer held the people's sovereignty," Sadjarwo
added.

A further impact of the amendment was that it negated the
existence of the Unitary Republic of Indonesia, he added.

The rejection by the scholars was surprising as the amendment
was aimed to establishing a bicameral system in which the
Assembly would no longer be a permanent institution but rather
would survive as a joint session of the House and the regional
representatives' council (DPD), which is to be set up later.

Soetardjo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) said he fully supported the concerns.

Responding to the adverse comments, PAH I secretary Ali
Masykur Musa said the rejection had been caused by a
misunderstanding.

"I think the committee has to clarify this issue. If it is not
then I think that the people will think that their aspirations
are not being accommodated," Ali told the press.

Ali, who also chairs the National Awakening Party (PKB)
faction in the House, admitted that around 200 legislators had
also urged the PAH I members to stop the amendment process.

Ali, however, said that officially his committee had never
received any complaints from legislators in the House of
Representatives (DPR).

He also invited any groups in the society to share their views
on the amendment process.

"Now is the opportune time for the people to convey their
opinions to the Assembly," he added.

Ali said that currently fellow legislators were collecting
input from the public on the draft of the fourth amendment.