---

Former Constitution Justice Harjono considered that not all Acts funded by foreign parties violated the 1945 Constitution.

A number of activists from different generation gathered in a café in South Jakarta. Their faces seemed gloomy thinking about this country. These activists from the older groups and student movement were designing a big move. They were outraged with the government decision to increase the price of cooking gas at their will. Actually cooking gas had been the staple fuel as replacement of kerosene.

The Management of Indonesian Consumer Foundation (YLKI), Sudaryanto, once took part in the discussion. He threw his view around the matter troubled by the activists. According to Sudaryanto, the basic problem lied in the missing of sovereignty in legislation process in Indonesia. An activist threw out a punch line. “How can the government and the legislative have their sovereignty? Everything is controlled from outside,” said the activist.

Sudaryanto recorded that many acts as the legislative products of the Parliament and government with the spirit following the letter of intent as the result of negotiation with the IMF. “For example, the Act on Gas and Petroleum,” he revealed. The data owned by the Director of Advocacy of the Anti-corruption Study Center in Gadjah Mada University Zainal Arifin Mochtar was even more frightening.

Zainal believed that most regulations on the management of natural resources were ‘helped’ by foreign parties. He referred to the Act on Gas and Petroleum, Act on Electricity, Act on Water Resources, and Act on Capital Investment.

These two observers did not say that for nothing. Donor institution from the USA, USAID, even clearly claimed to have helped in drafting the Act on Gas and Petroleum in October 2000. “USAID helped draft new oil and gas policy legislation submitted to Parliament in October 2000,” that was a quotation from the document accessible at the USAID official site.

Non-Government Organizations were also furious with this condition. Anti-debt Coalition and Mining Advocacy Network demanded the legal aid in the legislation process to be investigated thoroughly. “To restore the management of energy in Indonesia it is time for intervention from donor institution and foreign funding in this sector of energy is searched to its root,” wrote the two NGOs in their press release.

Brought before the Constitutional Court

f there is an Act considered having problem; Indonesian law opens two ways of settlement. Filing a review to the Constitutional Court or demanding the Parliament to revise the troublesome Act. Former Constitution Justice Harjono said that it would be a little difficult to bring the Acts funded by foreign institution before the Constitutional Court.

Harjono demanded some parties to think clearly. He admitted that many Acts were related to foreign institutions. In fact, Harjono considered the Act on Capital Market was a copy paste from American Act on Capital Market. Nevertheless, all of it did not automatically violate the constitution. “Even if there is a foreign aid, then is the material violates the 1945 Constitution? It does not necessarily so,” he explained.

The Act on Oil and Gas, he said to be the realistic example. Even a number of people were furious with the aid from USAID, but when it was brought to the Constitutional Court, the Act still existed. Harjono said that there was a stipulation that was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court, but it was only a few. Because of that, the efforts to question the Act was no longer appropriate. “If it has been trialed then its constitutionality is tested,” he stated. 

The Constitutional Court indeed only used the 1945 Constitution as the ground to review on acts that were considered troubled. However, the influence of foreign institution did not stop until the Act, but it also covered the amendment process of the 1945 Constitution. “Indonesian Constitutionalism is designed in such a way to support the investors,” explained Zainal several times ago. (Ali)

Source www.hukumonline.com (04/09/08)

Photo: Courtesy of www.google.co.id

 

---