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The Parliament and government will discuss the Commission of Fifth Amendment of the 1945 Constitution.

JAKARTA – the Government and the People’s Deliberative Assembly will do the amendment the constitution resulted from the fourth changes. The Speaker of the Parliament today will discuss the forming of Commission for Fifth Amendment Study of the 1945 Constitution.

According to the Speaker of the People Deliberation Assembly, Hidayat Nur Wahid, the meeting will discuss the forming time, stages, and also the authority of the Commission. "The Commission will study the constitution," said the Speaker of the Higher Parliament when contacted in Jakarta yesterday.

The idea to change the constitution also came from the President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. In his speech for the anniversary of the People’s Deliberation Assembly at the end of last week, Yudhoyono once again emphasized the need of Constitutional Amendment Commission. The Commission had the duty to discuss the stipulations to be changed in the Constitution as the result of the fourth amendment.

At his official speech in front of the Regional Representation Council (City Council) a year ago, Yudhoyono also supported the forming of preparation committee for Fifth Amendment of the 1945 Constitution. Constitution of this country had been amended four times since the reformation era took place in 1998.

Hidayat stated that the President just supported orally to the forming of the amendment commission. Yudhoyono had assigned the Minister of State Secretary to schedule the discussion with the Higher Parliament. Meanwhile, the time for the discussion between the government and the Higher Parliament had not been set.

According to Hidayat, the change in the constitution needed to be study deeper academically by state institution having special authority to do so. This State institution is what the President called as Constitution Amendment Commission in his speech. The commission, he said, would incorporated people’s advices as academic research, but “the amendment seemed to be conducted by the members of Higher Parliament in the next period ".

Presidential spokesperson, Andi Alfian Mallarangeng, said that the government is currently discussing the detailed concept of the Amendment Commission with the Higher Parliament. President had requested advice from the Presidential Consideration Board and National Law Commission. "But it ends in the Higher Parliament," he said. "The Government hands it over to the Higher Parliament."

According to Andi, the Amendment Commission later would be filled with experts in constitutional field. Whoever would join the commission had not been set by the Government. "The most important thing from the amendment is the process," he said. "it needs a huge consensus from the people concerning what things should be included in the amendment."

President’s special staff in Law, Denny Indrayana, yesterday said that the government expected the amendment this time could be comprehensive and systematic. That was why the change needed to involve experts and the people. "The change has to be carefully thought so that it will not cause a partial problem," said the lecturer from Gadjah Mada University. PURWANTO | KURNIASIH BUDI

Source: http://www.korantempo.com/korantempo/koran/2008/09/01/headline/krn.20080901.141178.id.html

Photo: courtesy of Constitutional Court Public Relation Doc.

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