TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Democracy must prevail
For a reborn democracy like Indonesia, the four constitutional amendments between 1999 and 2002 were substantial and shaped the country anew.
Change Size
Hammer it home: Bambang Soesatyo (right) of the Golkar Party raises the gavel after being sworn in as the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker at the MPR complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Thursday, while former MPR acting speakers Abdul Wahab Dalimunthe and Hillary Brigitta Lasut look on. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
A
fter several years of delay the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) says it will finally realize its plan to amend the Constitution. No schedule has been set yet, but MPR speaker Bambang Soesatyo has described the political move as a “limited amendment” to the Constitution, as the 711-member Assembly will focus on at least two provisions that will grant more power to the MPR and House of Representatives.
Since the last time the 1945 Constitution was amended in 2002, the MPR has left the country’s basic law and principles untouched. This despite the fact that the world has changed a lot within a span of 19 years – the Arab Spring, war on terror, China’s rise, financial crisis, internet advancement, robust growth of the digital economy etc. – and this has affected Indonesia.
Any change to the Constitution is therefore justified or else Indonesia will lag behind its peers on many fronts. Since returning to democracy in 1998, Indonesia has amended the previously sanctified 1945 Constitution four times only, as against, for example, 27 amendments made to the United States Constitution.
But for a reborn democracy like Indonesia, the four constitutional amendments between 1999 and 2002 were substantial and shaped the country anew. At that time the political elite clearly listened to the people’s demands, if not pressure, to make a break with the authoritarian New Order regime.
Among the milestone amendments were the military’s “return to barracks”, its surrender of sociopolitical rights to focus on defense and separation from the police, who would take charge of domestic security; the delegation of wide-ranging powers to the regions; and of course the direct election of presidents.
The constitutional amendments were aimed at strengthening democratic institutions. But democracy means little without eradicating corruption, which is why the political elite then agreed to form an independent anticorruption body, which became the Corruption Eradication Commission.
However, with the current perception that Indonesia’s democracy is regressing, speculation has loomed that the fifth constitutional amendment will undermine democracy even further and allow the old forces to regain control.
Such suspicions appear well grounded as one of the articles to be amended is Article 3 on the authority of the MPR. The amendment will grant the MPR the power to formulate state policy outlines (PPHN) to guide the national development for 50-100 years to come, reminiscent of the State Policy Guidelines (GBHN) of the New Order.
The plan would also expand the House’s authority under Article 23, allowing it to reject the draft state budget or return it for correction should it fail to align with the goals set out in the PPHN.
For sure, the MPR speaker does not have the right or power to limit the scope of a constitutional amendment once the debate opens. All political parties and institutions represented in the MPR will fight for their own agenda when the opportunity arises, just to convince their constituents and broaden their mass base ahead of the elections in 2024. History shows that almost every time the MPR regrouped to amend the Constitution Muslim-based parties tried their luck at formalizing sharia, but to no avail.
Many things can happen from today until the MPR plenary to amend the Constitution begins. We, however, must never lose the hope that the amendment will strengthen, not weaken, our democracy.
