Page 92 - BUKU A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE IN INDONESIA

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

On February 13, 1949, Vice President Moh. Hatta released an official state-
ment detailing Indonesia’s willingness to negotiate on the condition that
the Indonesian government would return to Yogyakarta and the Dutch
troops would withdraw from the territory of the Republic of Indonesia per
UN resolutions. The Federal Consultative Assembly/Bijeenkomst voor
Federaal Overleg (BFO) officially supported Indonesia’s official state-
ment.

Therefore, on February 26, 1949, the Dutch an-
nounced their plan to hold a Round Table Con-
ference (KMB) in The Hague, as the UN Security
Council requested. The main topics to be dis-
cussed at the conference included the “hando- As a modern country,
ver” of sovereignty to the Republic of the United indeed, RIS must
States of Indonesia (RIS) and the formation of the
Dutch Indonesian Union. have a constitution
stipulating the form

The implementation of KMB must end all existing
problems, namely social, political, economic, and of government,
cultural conflicts and issues. Therefore, through the system of
the KMB, the Netherlands had to recognize
(Dutch version: surrender) its sovereignty over governance, and
the Indonesian territory (Dutch East Indies) to others.
the Republic of the United States of Indonesia. It
meant that there would be no transitional period
of sovereignty, unlike the one stated in the Ling-
garjati and Renville Agreements which always
failed.

As the conference aimed to end all disputes, arrangements, including
preparing the provisional constitution, must be made before the KMB. As
a modern country, indeed, RIS must have a constitution stipulating the
form of government, the system of governance, and others.

Based on the “concept” of this constitution, RIS would have six institu-
tions, namely the President, the ministers, the Senate, the People’s Rep-
resentative Council, the Supreme Council of Indonesia, and the General
Audit Council (Algemene Rekenkamer). For the first time, the president
would be elected by government representatives and local state agen-
cies. In turn, the president would appoint three formators to compile the
cabinet. Then, at the recommendations of the three formators, the presi-
dent would select one of them as Prime Minister.

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