Indonesian President: Re-organize the Monitoring of the Institutions
Wednesday, 16 April, 2008 | 15:53 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said every state institutions including the presidential institution should have a monitoring system. However, the system should be checked and balanced to be function properly. “Power should be checked with power,” he said in the opening of national law convention at the state palace yesterday. “My performance has been checked by all institutions.”

After 10 years of reformation, the President said, many parties evaluated the implementation, construction, and check and balance system among state institutions. Some of the parties have considered to amend the Constitution while the rest wish to return to the basic regulation of 1945 (UUD 1945).

The event of the national law convention was discussed about the Constitutional issue. It was attended by Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Widodo AS; Information and Communication Minister M. Nuh; State Secretary Hatta Rajasa; Ministry Secretary Sudi Silalahi; and the Attorney General's Office Hendarman Supandji.

According to the President, the Constitution should arrange the life of the state to realize national goals responding to future challenges.

The President said, after four times of amending the 1945 Constitution, there are changes to the fundamental state system. Now the government is a an executive institution while the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), The House of Representatives (DPR), and Regional Representatives Assembly (DPD) are legislative . Supreme Court Justice and the Constitution Court are judicative institutions. In the past, the government was executive, the DPR was legislative, and the Supreme Court was a judicative institution.

Every institution has different authorities. “All institutions should be monitored,” said Yudhoyono. “This is important to maintain the Constitutional accountability including to the state's life and history.

Re-organizing the national legal system should be under the free political and non-constructive emotional pressures. The President thought it was dangerous to change the Constitution in an angry response to the re-organizing plan.

Ninin Damayanti