T

he government has rejected a proposal to reinstate the State Policy Guidelines (GBHN) through an amendment to the Constitution, saying such a move would cause political chaos.

During an annual consultation meeting with leaders of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) at the State Palace on Tuesday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo told MPR speaker Zulkifli Hasan and his four deputies that he preferred to restore the GBHN as the government’s long-term development guidelines through special legislation.

The President said a Constitution amendment would be “a Pandora’s box”, as all institutions would want to increase their authorities and power.

The government’s rejection leaves in limbo the MPR’s controversial plan for Constitutional changes to reactive the GHBN and thereby give the highest legislative body, which consists of representatives of political parties and regions, the authority to prepare policy guidelines.

The proposed amendment includes an obligation for the government to follow the guidelines or face a motion of no confidence from the MPR.

Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, who also participated in the meeting with MPR leaders, said the President still supported reinstating the GBHN.

However, he refused to disclose whether Jokowi supported putting the MPR in charge of crafting the GBHN, as had been the case during the leadership of former president Soeharto, the nation’s longest ruler.

“Basically, the President agrees with [the GBHN plan], but an amendment will take a lot political energy,” Pramono told reporters at the State Palace.

Pramono added that Zukifli and his four deputies, Mahyuddin, Oesman Sapta Odang, Hidayat Nur Wahid and EE Mangindaan, at Tuesday’s meeting had also invited President Jokowi to attend a joint plenary session with the House of Representatives and the MPR on Aug. 17.

Without revealing further details, Zulkifli told reporters after the meeting that Jokowi agreed with the GBHN plan and that it was just a matter of time for the MPR and government to reach common ground.

MPR leaders during Tuesday’s meeting proposed to Jokowi two models for the GBHN. The first resembles that applied during the Soeharto era, while the second is the one applied by the country’s first president and founding father Sukarno.

“The format of the GBHN will depend on the discussions at the House and DPD. Whether [we] will craft the same model of GBHN as under the presidency of Soeharto or the Semesta Berancana [Universal Plan] model under Sukarno will all depend on the progress of the discussions,” Zulkifli said.

Constitutional law expert Refly Harun said there was no urgency for the government and the MPR to reinstate the GBHN, because the direction of the country’s national development had been set out under the National Long-Term Development Plan (RPJP) and National Mid-Term Development Plan (RPJM).

“The political consequence of bringing back the GBHN is that the MPR could impeach the President should it find that the President fails to comply with the GBHN set by the MPR,” Refly said.

The GBHN will serve as a guideline for long-term development for the country, and it will be mandatory for the President to implement.

The amendment was proposed by the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which now controls the largest number of seats at the House, 109 out of 560.