Jakarta – Indonesia's national assembly will Monday open its first annual session as analysts dismiss the meeting as unnecessary and its agenda as too ambitious.

The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the country's highest legislative body which so far has only convened once every five years, will open its first two-week annual session here in line with a decision reached during its last meeting in October.

"It is the first [annual congress] and I certainly hope the last," said political scientist Kusnanto Anggoro. He said annual meetings "do not make sense" for the MPR as not only does it exact too much precious time from all to prepare it every year but it also had too ambitious an agenda that would be difficult to meet.

Authorities say the session would decide amendments to the 1945 constitution and hear progress reports from all higher government institutions, including the president.

Erry Riyana Harjapamekas, president of the state tin firm Tambang Timah who was one of the people behind a "national reconciliation dialogue" in Bali in June, also believed it was redundant.

"I don't really understand the aims of the annual session. If the DPR [the lower house] functioned effectively, it would be sufficient to represent the people, and there will be no need to hold annual MPR sessions," Riyana said.

The 500 members of the People's Representative Council (DPR) join 200 people representing regions and non-political organisations to form the MPR. But the DPR, Anggoro said, was far from effective. He cited that in passing new legislation, the DPR elected in October, had produced just 17 new laws – mostly technical and already thoroughly prepared by government institutions. The DPR was still sitting on another 19.

Riyana said rumors and tensions ahead of the annual session had badly affected the market, investment and the economy as a whole. "Are we ready to face this every year from now on?" he asked.

Hendardi, the executive director of the Indonesian Association for Legal Aid and Human Rights, said in theory annual MPR sessions had its good sides, including a periodical evaluation of progress by the government. But it should be tighly and well organized," Hendardi said.

He added that efforts by some legislators to call a special MPR session where President Wahid would have to account for his rule, which could lead to a forced resignation, was a bad example. "Realistically, it is clearly difficult to guarantee a smooth annual congress and in the current conditions, maybe once every five years makes more sense," he said.

Gunawan Muhammad, the former chief editor of the leading Tempo magazine, was among the few who came out in support of yearly MPR meetings. "The best system is not necessarily the most perfect one, but a system that can easily be improved," Muhammad said. He also said yearly meetings were needed because "the pace of frustration is also going fast now."

But everyone agreed that it was not for the MPR in its upcoming session to pass amendments to the constitution. An ad-hoc commision of some 17 members has prepared at least 21 amendments to the constitution, ranging from technicalities to fundamental issues such as freedom of religion and the involvement of the armed forces in politics.

"It is certainly a big mistake to allow a committee of just 17 people to decide on changes to the constitution ... this is not an issue for just 17 people, or 700 people at the MPR but this concerns 210 million people," Hendardi said.

"Changes in the constitution will carry widespread implications if they are not thoroughly thought out carefully from all aspects," Riyana said. He said although amendments could always be further amended in the future, such changes should be avoided.

All four agreed parliament should open a public debate on amendments and encourage public discourse on the subject, including in campuses and involving the military before any decision is made. Anggoro said amendments proposed by the ad hoc commission should be accepted only as an input.

And the MPR should set up a committee of constitution which will be given a time-frame to discuss changes with all facets of society, including politicians, religious leaders, students, economists and the military.