MPR plans simple presidential inauguration

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 10/14/2009 9:05 AM  |  National

The People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) will spend Rp 312 million (US$33,000) at the most on the  inauguration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his running mate, Boediono, on Oct. 20.

The budget is far lower than the Rp 46 billion spent from state budget funds on the inauguration ceremonies of the incoming House of Representatives and Regional Representatives Council (DPD).  

“We want to have a respectful and simple inauguration of the President, but also to maintain its solemnity,” one of the MPR deputy chairmen, Hajriyanto Tohari from the Golkar party, told The Jakarta Post   in Jakarta on Tuesday.

“One of the main reasons why we have managed to keep the cost low is that we no longer allocate any of the budget for accommodation purposes,” he added.

Hajriyanto said that an agreement on the budget allocation was arrived at during a previous consultative meeting, which involved the MPR leaders, representatives of the political parties at the Assembly, and the members of the DPD.

“During that meeting, we also wanted to ensure that all the parties will make sure all of their members attend the presidential inauguration, because this is one of the most important events for our country,” he said.

It will be the second and final term  for Yudhoyono after winning the July presidential election by a landslide victory.

He garnered some 60 percent of the votes, while his closest rival, Megawati Soekarnoputri from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), obtained only 26 percent of the votes.

Yudhoyono’s current Vice President, Jusuf Kalla from Golkar, won only around 12 percent of the votes when he stood in his own right to contest the presidential post..

Previously, rumors were spread around that the DPD would boycott Yudhoyono’s inauguration following its members disappointment  after the naming of Farhan Hamid as the MPR deputy chairmen representing the council, since there were major arguments over this.

Farhan was considered to be an “untrue” representative of the DPD because the council was on the verge of nominating either Aksa Mahmud or Djan Farid for the post.

However, MPR Speaker Taufik Kiemas from the PDI-P faction, said that Farhan’s appointment was legitimate because the MPR plenary session, in which Farhan was named, had met the required quorum.

One of the DPD deputy chairmen, Laode Ida, also said that the council would not undermine the importtance  of the presidential inauguration ceremony by boycotting it.

Meanwhile, Hajriyanto’s fellow deputy chairman, Lukman Hakim from the United Development Party (PPP), said that the meeting also discussed the revision of the Assembly’s internal regulations.

“The revision was mandated by the 2009 People’s Consultative Assembly, House of Representatives, Regional Representatives Council and Provincial Legislative Council Law,” he said.

“We will talk about the revision of the MPR procedures when it exercises its authority, such as during the inauguration of presidents, when amending the 1945 Constitution,  or during the replacement of an MPR leader should he or she prove incapable of doing his or her job,” he added.

Lukman also said that the meeting also discussed the establishment of an ad hoc committee aiming to formulate the revision of the internal regulation and ensuring its implementation in step with the law.

Hajriyanto said that the committee would begin its first meeting on Oct. 19. (hdt)

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