Page 134 - BUKU A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE IN INDONESIA

EFFORT TO REUNITE THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
(1950 – 1960)

Unfortunately, due to heterogeneous member-
ship that often affected partial interests, the Con-
stituent Assembly did not perform its main task
as the creator of the Constitution as expected. The Constituent

Assembly was a
The Constituent Assembly repeated its previous
year’s failure to produce expected results. Conse- representative
quently, there was unrest among the people and institution mandated
the members of the Council themselves.
by the RIS Constitution
Meanwhile, the Constituent Assembly was a rep- and the 1950
resentative institution mandated by the RIS Con-
stitution and the 1950 Constitution. This institution Constitution. This
was a manifestation of the desire of the Indone- institution was
sian people to have a constitution made by repre-
sentatives of all Indonesian people. In 1956–1959, a manifestation
the Constituent Assembly conducted various of the desire of
essential discussions and debates regarding the
ideal constitutional structure for the Indonesian the Indonesian
nation. However, the sharp ideological disparity people to have a
must be stopped by a Presidential Decree. The
Constituent’s background as a product of a liberal constitution made by
system became the reason for the dissolution of representatives of all
the constitution-making institution amid the idea
of Guided Democracy that the government was Indonesian people.
intensively promoting at the time.

Unlike the Constituent Assembly, the DPR, which
has inherited the parliamentary tradition since
Indonesia’s independence, had slowly become
a very agile institution in balancing the government’s performance and
guarding the people, nation, and state’s interests. As a newly established
country, several national and social issues in Indonesia required the at-
tention of parliament as a partner of the government. Very notable was
the role of parliament in supporting the government’s efforts to gain in-
ternational recognition by passing laws on cooperation in bilateral rela-
tions and trade with various countries at the beginning of Indonesia’s
independence.

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