The Extension Of The President's Term Is Still A Polemic, This Is The MPR's Response

DPR RI Building (Photo: Irfan Meidianto/VOI)

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairperson of the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), Ahmad Basarah, emphasized that his institution had never scheduled an amendment to the 1945 Constitution regarding the extension of the president's term of office, including the postponement of elections.

"I think that is the commitment of the MPR to date", said Ahmad Basarah in his statement, Monday, March 21.

The PDIP legislator said that from the beginning his party initiated a limited amendment to the 1945 Constitution only to present the Outlines of State Policy (GBHN) or the main points of state policy. When there was another agenda to change other articles in the amendment process, Basarah said, his party officially withdrew from the plan to amend the 1945 Constitution during this period.

"This is so that the dignity of our constitution can be maintained because the constitution is the vision and mission of the great and long-term Indonesian nation. The amendments to the Constitution cannot be designed for the benefit of individuals or groups", he stressed again.

PDIP Party, he added, had taken a firm stance not to make the momentum of the amendment to the 1945 Constitution an entry point for the interests of individuals or groups, which could damage the constitution.

"PDIP has withdrawn on a limited basis to present the State Policy Principles (PPHN), which is not carried out during this period", he said.

It is known, the discourse to stop the proposed amendment to the 1945 Constitution to regulate the authority of the Indonesian People's Consultative Assembly through the State Policy Principles (PPHN) has strengthened recently.

The proposal follows after the discourse on amendments to the postponement of the 2024 General Election and the extension of the presidential term of office which was first conveyed by PKB General Chair Muhaimin Iskandar on Wednesday, February 23, last.

Before the discourse on postponing the 2024 General Election was strengthened in the last month, the MPR did plan to include their authority through amendments. The chairman of the MPR, Bambang Soesatyo, even targets the amendment session for the PPHN to be held next April.

Currently, the PPHN is still in the process of being reviewed by the MPR Review Board and the Constitutional Review Commission (K3).

"The amendments are still ongoing as the results of yesterday's leadership meeting. We hope that the MPR and K3 Study Board can complete them in April", he said early last December.

The proposal was supported by almost all factions in the MPR, including the PDIP, which on the issue of the amendment to the postponement of the election had stated its rejection. However, PDIP later withdrew their stance and suggested that the amendments to the PPHN be temporarily postponed.