Page 136 - BUKU A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE IN INDONESIA

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

PARLIAMENT AND THE EFFORTS TO

ARRIVE AT A NEW CONSTITUTION

(1957-1960)

Efforts to return to a presidential form of government began to surface through
Soekarno’s political ideas and the conception of the President.

ON February 21, 1957, President Soekarno had discussed a Gotong-Roy-
ong Cabinet, which would represent all existing parties and functional
groups. However, this discourse was opposed by several parties such as
Masyumi, PSII, NU, Catholic, and PRI. This refusal was based on the fact
that changing the constitutional system was the domain and task of the
Constituent Assembly. Therefore, it should be left to the Constituent As-
sembly in the parties’ opinion.

The discourse proposed by President Soekarno was known as the “Pres-
idential Conception”. With an intent to save the nation and the state from
the difficulties it faced, Soekarno stated his proposal with the following
points:

1. The Western system of parliamentary democracy (liberal democra-
cy) is not suitable for Indonesia’s identity. Opposition in DPR, which
consistently attempts to overthrow the Government, does not match
the Indonesian identity. Therefore, the Parliamentary Democracy
system must be replaced with a Guided Democracy system, coop-
erative democracy, a democracy led by the wisdom of deliberation.

2. In order to implement this Guided Democracy system, it is necessary
to form a Gotong Rojong Cabinet, whose members must consist of
all parties, and an organization based on the balance of power that
exists in society. By implementing the Gotong Rojong Conception,
the opposition in DPR, the differences of opinion in the DPR, should
be used to seek improvement and progress, not merely overthrow
the existing government.

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