Page 256 - BUKU A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE IN INDONESIA

THE DYNAMICS AND ROLES OF DPR-RI IN IMPROVING THE LIFE OF THE NATION
IN THE REFORMATION ERA (1998-2018)

Efforts to amend several articles of the 1945 Con-
stitution came to light during the Special Session
of the People’s Consultative Assembly on 10-13
November 1998 after the reformation began. The “From 1999 to 2002,
rationale for the amendment was that the 1945 the sessions of the
Constitution formed a state administrative struc- MPR resulted in four
ture that rested on the highest power in the hands
of the MPR, which fully implemented the sover- amendments to the
eignty of the people. This resulted in the absence 1945 Constitution. The
of checks and balances in state administrative in-
stitutions. amendments to the
1945 Constitution not
The control of the MPR was the key word for the
power of the state government which seemed to only made changes to
have no relationship with the people anymore. So a number of articles
far, the 1945 Constitution had also given so much
power to the executive, including various pre- but also clarified and
rogatives such as pardon, amnesty, abolition, and emphasized several
rehabilitation.
things that were

Such great executive power in the 1945 Con- previously considered
stitution was not the only weakness in imple-
menting the checks and balances system. The weaknesses.”
1945 Constitution contained a number of ar-
ticles with multiple interpretations, especially
those concerning the top executive leadership,
namely the president, who generally had very
large powers. The article provided an opportunity for a person to be
re-elected as president because it only explained that the president
and vice president held office for a term of five years and thereafter
could be re-elected. In addition, there were articles with potentially
multiple interpretations because of the concept of Indonesians. The
article that stated “The President is a native Indonesian” had various
interpretations.

From 1999 to 2002, the sessions of the MPR resulted in four amend-
ments to the 1945 Constitution. The amendments to the 1945 Constitu-
tion not only made changes to a number of articles but also clarified
and emphasized several things that were previously considered weak-
nesses. For example, regarding the position of the DPR. A number of
fundamental changes related to the authority and duties of the DPR
included:

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