Constitutional amendment under study

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta   |  Tue, 04/22/2008 1:08 AM  |  Headlines

The President said Monday a fifth amendment to the 1945 Constitution would empower the executive and the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) to create a government of more equal checks and balances.

After meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at his office, a group of constitutional experts said he had complained he could not execute his programs because the more powerful House of Representatives often torpedoed his initiatives.

"The President frequently feels his hands are tied because he is powerless before the House even though Indonesia has adopted a presidential system. We believe the Constitution gives too much power to the House," chairman of the Institute for Constitutional Study (LKK) Sri Soemantri said.

LKK member Albert Hasibuan said Article 13 of the Constitution that requires the President to consult the House when appointing an ambassador was an example of the legislative power's overriding authority.

"Globally, we find only in Indonesia that a parliament holds the power in determining appointment of ambassadors," Albert said.

The House, Albert said, also had too much power in making and passing a bill into law. Article 20 of the Constitution says a bill endorsed by the House will automatically come into effect within 30 days, regardless of the President's objection.

"What we want is for the President to be able to veto a bill if it only wins approval from less than three-fourths of the House members," Albert said. Such a practice is used in the United States.

All three post-New Order presidents, including Yudhoyono, have failed to enjoy the majority support from the House, forcing each to form a rainbow Cabinet for the sake of a stable government.

Hidayat Nur Wahid, speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) called on the constitutional law experts to discuss the proposed amendments with the assembly, the only institution to hold the power to amend the Constitution.

"If they are serious, they have to come to the MPR to convince us their ideas are useful," he told The Jakarta Post.

The President also shared with the experts the need to strengthen the DPD to allow the country to fully adopt a bicameral system.

The DPD, reminiscent of the senate in other democracies, has demanded amendment to Article 22 (D) to give it full legislative and budget rights, particularly on matters relating to the regions, as well as an effective control power to uphold a checks-and-balances mechanism.

The country's second-largest party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), has opposed the demand, saying it could turn Indonesia into a federal state.

State Secretary Hatta Radjasa said the meeting was aimed at gathering ideas from the public, and to level the perspective of the government and the House before the President established a council to draft the fifth constitutional amendments.

Yudhoyono has expressed commitment to completing the amendments as a legacy of the administration after the 2009 election.

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