Winds of change sweep the Assembly

Winds of change sweep the Assembly

JAKARTA (JP): Hope is high that the seeds of democracy, sowed
during the June general election, will bear fruit when the 700
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) legislators begin their
terms on Friday.

A number of people blacklisted during the New Order regime for
their stiff opposition to the rule of Soeharto will be among
those sworn in to the new Assembly, which will hold its General
Session.

Nobody would have expected that the likes of Aberson Marle
Sihaloho, who was jailed in 1996 for defaming Soeharto, or A.M.
Fatwa, who was sent to prison for subversion following an
uprising in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, in 1984, would emerge
as members of the respected Assembly.

For others, the new period serves as a reunion for those who
have retained their seats. Golkar Party's Ekky Syahrudin, Andi
Mattalata, Marwah Daud Ibrahim will join forces, while Aisyah
Amini and Khofifah Indar Parawansa meet again with different
teams. Until November last year, both were legislators
representing the United Development Party, but this time around
Khofifah is representing the National Awakening Party.

Not all of the 700 members will turn up for the induction
ceremony on Friday. General Elections Commission secretary Samad
Thahir said at least 15 regional representatives from East Timor,
Aceh and Southeast Sulawesi would miss the ceremony.

MPR comprises 462 House of Representatives members elected in
the June 7 polls, 38 representatives of Indonesian Military and
National Police, 135 regional representatives and 65
representatives of various interest groups.

Friday's function will mark the start of weeks of debate in
the General Session, during which the MPR members will decide on
its internal rules, State Policy Guidelines and constitutional
amendments before finally electing a president for the 1999/2004
period.

Apart from the presidential election, Golkar Party chairman
Akbar Tandjung said amendment of the 1945 Constitution would
highlight the General Session.

"The amendment will most likely focus on how to enforce the
principle of check and balance among the state's highest
institutions," Akbar said.

Before electing its speaker on Saturday, the Assembly will
most likely name its oldest member Abdul Majid of the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle, 72, and its youngest member Izul
Islam of United Development Party, 29, to preside over the
session.

On the eve of oath-taking before Chief Justice Sarwata, the
Assembly agreed to break a long-standing taboo. On Friday, they
will be allowed to remain seated while the President enters or
leaves the Assembly hall.

Some legislators objected the old protocol, insisting that the
Assembly was the state's highest institution according to the
1945 Constitution.

But an Assembly member representing interest groups, Mohammad
Assegaf, disputed the new convention, saying the President, as
the head of state, deserved the tribute. "I will rise even though
other members remain seated," Assegaf said during a rehearsal for
Friday's ceremony.

The legislators will not attend a procession at Lubang Buaya
Monument in East Jakarta prior to their induction either. In the
past, Assembly members commemorated the Indonesian Military's
crushing of a 1965 coup attempt, which was blamed on the now
banned Indonesian Communist Party, at the monument before they
were installed.

With different opinions becoming the order of the day, some
legislators have predicted that many decisions will be reached
only after a vote is taken.

Priyo Budi Santoso of Golkar said: "Even birds of a feather
will possibly not flock together this time around. I don't think
we are 100 percent united in some areas, including on the issue
of the presidency."

Golkar has named incumbent B.J. Habibie its sole presidential
candidate, although a rift appears to be forming over the
decision. (emf/amd)