Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono underlined Tuesday the importance of a fifth amendment to the Constitution, while speaking to hundreds of veterans.
Yudhoyono said, during the commemoration of the 52nd anniversary of the Indonesian Veterans Legion (LVRI) at the presidential palace that Indonesia needed to review the 1945 Constitution, which had been amended four times since 1999.
"Let's examine, have we headed in the right direction with the four amendments, as our founding fathers wanted? Has there been an effective balance in the sharing of power between the executive, legislative and judicial bodies?" the president said.
"Can the bodies do their job, as mandated by the Constitution, effectively? Have we had proper formula for liberty and security? And can the Constitution respond to changing times, to the era of globalization?" he went on.
Critics have said a fifth amendment is needed to reduce the excessive power of the legislature, which now has the power to conduct fit and proper tests in respect of executive jobs, including Ambassadors and even directors of state-own enterprises.
Legislative power is also manifested when a bill passed by the House of Representatives will automatically become law within 30 days even if the President refuses to sign it.
The new amendment also aims at strengthening the role of the Regional Representative Council (DPD) to act as an upper house.
Yudhoyono said a fifth amendment to the Constitution was always possible, but could only be done if the people really wanted it.
Landmark achievements of the first four amendments, between 1999 and 2002, included limitation of presidential tenure to two five-year terms; termination of the military's political function; separation of the police from the military; election of DPD members; and the introduction of direct presidential elections.
The LVRI chairman, a three-star retired general Rais Abin, said a fifth Constitutional amendment was urgent to help Indonesia consistently implement its presidential system.
Rais said the four amendments had resulted in bringing about a parliamentary system, which "would not be as effective as" the presidential system in the Indonesian context.
"We believe a fifth amendment is the only thing that can help us solve the problem," he said.
Demands for the fifth Constitutional amendment have emerged during the last few years.