Involve DPD, MPR Forms Ad Hoc Committee To Discuss PPHN

JAKARTA - The MPR formed an Ad Hoc Committee to conduct a constitutional convention related to the discussion of the State Policy Principles (PPHN) in the 2019-2024 period. MPR chairman Bambang Soesatyo said the Ad Hoc committee involved leaders, faction representatives, and DPD groups.

"Formation of an Ad Hoc Committee consisting of 10 MPR leaders and 45 from DPD factions and groups," said Bamsoet to reporters at the DPR/MPR building, Jakarta, Monday, July 25.

Bamsoet revealed that the Ad Hoc Committee will be decided and determined in the MPR RI Plenary Session in early September. The reason is that it is impossible to determine the Ad Hoc committee during the annual session on August 16, 2022.

"Later, a decision will be made in the plenary session in early September. Because it is impossible for us to include it in the annual session on August 16," he explained.

Bamsoet said that the decision to form the Ad Hoc Committee was taken after the MPR leadership held a joint meeting regarding the draft legal form of the PPHN which was previously proposed by the MPR Review Board.

The deputy head of Golkar said that the results of the meeting agreed not to amend the 1945 Constitution to present PPHN, but through a constitutional convention.

According to Bamsoet, the constitutional convention is a breakthrough from the MPR Review Board in presenting the PPHN in line with the amendments to the 1945 Constitution.

He also said that the MPR Review Board's proposal regarding the constitutional convention was based on the arguments or legal basis of Article 100 paragraph 2 of the MPR RI Regulation Number 1 of 2019 concerning the Rules of the Indonesian MPR.

"What is interesting is that the Study Board found a new breakthrough to avoid amendments, because today's political situation does not allow us to make changes or amendments to the Constitution. So the breakthrough is based on the arguments or legal basis of Article 100 in the statute paragraph 2 in particular that MPR decisions can be made through constitutional conventions that can bind both inside and outside," explained the former chairman of the DPR.

"This is what the report from the Study Board was unanimously accepted by the joint meeting, which was followed by the formation of an Ad Hoc committee," continued Bamsoet.

Bamsoet considered that the PPHN was urgently needed to be re-presented as the Outline of State Policy (GBHN) before it was abolished. Because, he said, so far the MPR has only relied on the president's vision and mission.

"We enthusiastically agreed. Earlier in the meeting we agreed on the importance of PPHN for this country, because so far we have only relied on the vision and mission of the elected president and we just need to increase the degree of the president's vision and mission, the vision and mission of governors, regents, mayors, to the state's vision and mission," said Bamsoet.