Threat of constitutional deadlock increases
Kurniawan Hari and Fitri Wulandari The Jakarta Post Jakarta
The threat of a deadlock in the fourth phase of constitutional amendments at the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) increased in seriousness on Friday when a number of legislators revealed that the move to thwart the amendment was backed by nearly one- third of the MPR members.
Siti Hartati Murdaya of the Interest Groups faction (FUG) said that 206 legislators had expressed opposition to the amendment. Bambang Pranoto of PDI Perjuangan, however, claimed the number was 222.
"The number will rise because we expect more support from fellow legislators," Hartati told The Jakarta Post by phone.
Both PDI Perjuangan and Interest Groups factions have strong reasons to reject the amendment process, which puts them at a political disadvantage.
The FUG's presence at the Assembly will be scrapped if the fourth amendment is endorsed in the ongoing Annual Session. PDI Perjuangan, meanwhile, has campaigned for a delay in the implementation of direct presidential elections until 2009.
Hartati said that of the 206 legislators, 104 were from PDI Perjuangan, 59 from the Interest Groups, and another 43 from the National Awakening Party (PKB).
Bambang Pranoto presented a different figure, saying of the 222 legislators, 107 came from his PDI Perjuangan, 63 from the Interest Groups and 52 from PKB.
Legislators continued their campaign to postpone the constitutional amendment at a plenary meeting on Friday.
Syahrul Azwir Matondang of PDI Perjuangan warned the Assembly that the amendment process would backfire if they continued, saying the amendment was "out of proportion".
Assembly Speaker Amien Rais expressed concern over the significant number of MPR members opposing the amendment, saying it was a very important issue that must be seriously taken into account.
Amien added that if the number of legislators supporting the amendment was less than two-thirds of the total number of Assembly members, the amendment process could not be continued.
"Let's wait and see," he said.
According to the 1945 Constitution on amendments, an amendment can proceed only if it is supported by at least two-thirds of the Assembly members.
Based on data issued by the Assembly's Secretariat, the actual number of MPR members is 674. It means that at least 448 legislators have to attend a plenary meeting to endorse the fourth phase of amendments.
If the maneuver to block the amendment wins the support of more legislators, possibly from the 38-strong Indonesian Military/Police faction, the amendment will be stalled.
Meanwhile, PKB legislator Ida Fauziah denied claims that members of the PKB faction supported the move to block the amendment.
"We must differentiate between the action of PKB and that of other factions," Fauziah told the Post, referring to PDI Perjuangan and Interest Groups factions.
According to Fauziah, PKB members had signed a petition to push for the setting up of a constitutional commission, not to foil the amendment.
The Indonesian Military/National Police faction also reaffirmed its stance to fully support the amendment and for the establishment of a constitutional commission.
"We still want the amendment process to continue," Slamet Supriyadi, head of the TNI/Police faction at the Assembly, told reporters on Friday.
He guaranteed that none of his faction members would sign the petition to reject the amendment. "I assure you that not one of our members will sign (the petition) to reject the amendment."
PDI Perjuangan faction members Jakob Tobing, Meilono Suwondo, and JE Sahetapy expressed concern over the move to foil the endorsement of the amendment, which could lead to a deadlock.
Jakob said that PDI Perjuangan leader Megawati Soekarnoputri had repeatedly called on all faction members to support the constitutional amendment.
"There was a clear message for all members to continue with the amendment. I don't think this is a serious problem," Jakob said.
Sahetapy, meanwhile, said the maneuver indicated that legislators were feigning intelligence and were ignoring the aspirations of others.
Meilono had a different view, saying that the maneuver was a result from the indecisiveness of Megawati.
"She (Megawati) is so weak. She allows conflicting opinions to develop," Meilono charged.
Megawati's husband, Taufik Kiemas, is among the signatories to the petition against the amendment.
-------------------------------------------------------------- No. Factions Votes For amendment Against --------------------------------------------------------------- 1. PDI Perjuangan 175 68 107 2. Golkar 146 146 0 3. PPP 64 64 0 4. PKB 52 52 0 5. Reform 46 46 0 6. PBB 12 12 0 7. KKI 11 11 0 8. PDU 10 10 0 9. PDKB 5 5 5 10. Military/Police 38 38 0 11. Interest Groups 63 0 63 12. Regional Reps 52 52 0 ----------------------------------------------------------------
Total 674 504 170