All factions had agreed to carry out "limited amendments" to the Constitution.
The talk on whether the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) needs to amend the 1945 Constitution is still going on, with the political parties appearing to soften their stances, saying a change of one aspect would be like opening Pandora's box as it could lead to changes of other aspects.
MPR deputy speaker Ahmad Muzani of the opposition Gerindra Party said all factions had agreed to carry out "limited amendments" to the Constitution, focusing only on reinstating the long-defunct policy framework for long-term development plans (GBHN).
However, some parties have started to express concern, including Gerindra, which initially proposed a thorough amendment to bring the Constitution back to its original form.
"I see the factions' views are now somewhat different from what they were during the last meeting of the MPR," Muzani said on Friday.
Muzani said a strong commitment from the political party leaders and the Regional Representative Council (DPD) was needed to ensure that the amendments would be limited only to bringing the GBHN back and they would not be expanded to affect other aspects of the Constitution, including reviving the MPR's authority to appoint the president, a system that was used for more than three decades by the dictator Soeharto during his New Order era.
A House of Representatives deputy speaker, who is also Gerindra’s deputy chairman, Fadli Zon, had been vocal about bringing back the complete original Constitution. He said on Friday the amendment should only aim to revive the GBHN, not other aspects like the electoral system.
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