‘Like a slap in the face,’ Jokowi says no to third presidential term

[Indos]

‘Like a slap in the face,’ Jokowi says no to third presidential term

• Marchio Irfan Gorbiano
  The Jakarta Post
  

Jakarta / Mon, December 2, 2019 / 04:28 pm

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. (JP/Wienda Parwitasari)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has said he will not back proposals to the amend the 1945 Constitution, particularly a proposal to increase the presidential term limit, saying that a such plan was akin to a “slap in the face”.

Jokowi said on Monday that he was initially open to the idea of a limited constitutional amendment to revive the now-defunct State Policy Guidelines (GBHN).

However, as discussions have since strayed from this initial idea to include proposals to increase the presidential term limit from two terms to three and for the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) to elect the president, he said it was better to scrap plans for an amendment altogether.

“It would be better if there was no [constitutional] amendment. Let us concentrate on external pressures that are difficult to handle,” Jokowi told the press at Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta, emphasizing that he was “the product of a direct election”.

Read also: 3 terms in office for president? Proposals for more terms put forth at MPR

“There are some who say a president should remain in office for three terms,” he added, “[This proposal] has three [possible meanings] for me. One, [they] want to slap my face; second, [they are] a sycophant; or three, [they] only want to ensnare [me].”

Proposals to amend the 1945 Constitution have been put forth at the MPR for the past few months, with MPR Speaker Bambang Soesatyo initially indicating he would pursue a limited constitutional amendment to revive the GBHN upon being elected to the position.

However, discussions have since snowballed, with parties floating ideas to increase the presidential term limit and scrap direct elections.

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country’s largest Islamic organization, also recently suggested that the president and vice president should be elected by the MPR, an arrangement that harks back to the days of the New Order era.

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news...kowi-says-no-to-constitutional-amendment.html

 

[GHALIB]

very nice

 

[Indos]

very nice

Yup, I hope our democracy become more mature time after time.

 

[Kambojaric]

Good. Democracy needs strong individuals who are able to resist their own lust for power and money. Over the long run this strengthens institutions and leads to a more mature and stable nation.

 

[casual]

hope he groomed a successor

 

[Indos]

Amendment disagreement: Jokowi says no, MPR divided

• Karina M. Tehusijarana, Ghina Ghaliya and Marchio Irfan Gorbiano
  The Jakarta Post
  

PREMIUM
Jakarta / Wed, December 4, 2019 / 07:37 pm

Legislators gather for the plenary meeting of the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) in Jakarta in October.(JP/Seto Wardhana)

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has expressed his disapproval of the People's Consultative Assembly’s (MPR) plan to amend the constitution, saying the nation should focus on the challenges that lie ahead and not on making political noise.

Despite the President’s opposition, several political parties in his coalition are continuing to press the issue.

On Wednesday, Assembly leaders continued their road show to “absorb” public opinion on the proposed amendment. They visited the headquarters of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), where the ulemas expressed their support for a limited constitutional amendment.

The MUI said Assembly leaders should first thoroughly assess whether an amendment was necessary.

“If the MPR goes ahead with the constitutional amendment, however, the MUI will understand as long as the amendment focuses only on reinstating the State Policy Guidelines [GBHN],” MUI leader Basri Bermanda said.

Assembly leaders have insisted that the constitutional amendment will only reinstate the now-defunct GBHN, a legacy of former president Soeharto’s New Order regime.

The reinstatement of the GBHN could wrest some independence away from the executive, as the MPR would have the power to decide whether the President’s policies were in line with the policy guidelines.

However, certain parties are pushing for a wider-ranging amendment.

The country’s largest Muslim mass organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), suggested last week that the amendment should include the abolition of direct elections. The organization cited the high cost of direct elections and the high potential for political polarization.

The NasDem party, a member of Jokowi’s coalition, raised the idea of increasing the presidential term limit from two to three five-year terms, while the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) suggested allowing only one seven-year presidential term.

Jokowi has signaled his disapproval of the constitutional amendment in any form. In August, he said he considered the GBHN unnecessary and that his presidency was a product of direct elections.

On Monday, he objected more explicitly to the idea of a constitutional amendment.

“It would be better if there were no amendment. Let us concentrate on external pressures that are difficult to handle,” Jokowi told the press at Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta. He emphasized again that he was “the product of a direct election”.

“There are some who say a president should stay in office for three terms,” he said, “This has three [possible meanings] for me. One, they want to slap my face; two, they are sycophants; or three, they just want to ensnare me.”

Political parties outside the government coalition, who have been against the amendment, have praised the President for his comments.

"Bravo to Pak Jokowi for speaking out forcefully and firmly because this is a very fundamental issue," Prosperous Justice Party lawmaker Mardani Ali Sera said. "It is becoming wild. At first it was about GBHN; then it was about [the president] being chosen by the MPR; then it was about three terms. I appreciate Pak Jokowi's statement."

Democratic Party lawmaker Didi Irawadi echoed Mardani's comments. He said Jokowi's stance against the amendment was "correct".

"In the opinion of the Democrats, the president should be limited to two terms of five years as required by law," he told reporters on Tuesday. "If the GBHN leads to the President being chosen by the MPR, then that is also incorrect because it takes away rights that the people have had since 2004."

Those in the ruling coalition have been more equivocal in their responses to Jokowi’s comments.

Andreas Hugo Pareira of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the party that has spearheaded the amendment, said that Jokowi had criticized only the increase in the term limit. He said the MPR should focus on the GBHN.

"Jokowi has repeatedly emphasized that the amendment should just concern the long-term development plans," Andreas said on Tuesday.

"The addition of new topics to the amendment will only lead to a counterproductive discussion, so the MPR should focus on the recommendations of the 2014 to 2019 MPR."

House Speaker Puan Maharani of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said the idea to extend the presidential term limit from two to three terms was backward. “I think we must be consistent and focus on [reinstating] the GBHN,” she said on Wednesday.

When asked about Jokowi's comments, MPR Deputy Speaker and National Awakening Party lawmaker Jazilul Fawaid said there was a "constitutional mechanism" for proposing an amendment.

"We are absorbing the aspirations of the public and taking the recommendations of the previous MPR into consideration with regard to a limited amendment concerning the GBHN," he said.

Golkar Party chairman Airlangga said the country should focus instead on the economy.

"In the current economic situation, with the instability of the global economy, the only part of the world where there is political stability is ASEAN, and the country with the greatest political stability in ASEAN is Indonesia," he said on Monday night. "Because of that, an amendment in the near future might not be needed. [The Golkar Party] will evaluate it deeply."

NasDem, meanwhile, has backtracked somewhat on its previous suggestion to increase the number of presidential terms.

"We are not pushing [for three terms] but discussing it, evaluating it. That is the process," NasDem executive Willy Aditya said on Tuesday. "The context is discussion and evaluation. As a discussion topic, it is normal. [...] There's no need to be suspicious."

He added that the party wanted to "gather the public's aspirations" but did not yet have any "specific recommendations" for the amendment.

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/12/04/amendment-antagonism-jokowi-says-no-mpr-divided.html

 

[Nike]

Nasdem had a foul politic here, they want to backtracking Jokowi administration to pave way for Anies to move toward 2024 election. This is a vendetta move against Jokowi for his to reduce the involvement of Nasdem in current administration

NU and MUI never learn from history they are more worse than donkey, only by direct election they will got more votes and cloud in politics rather than using indirect method in which susceptible from disrupt from the one in power and politics dagang sapi. Even the fall of Gusdur is the working of such scheme

 

[Kyle Sun]

Superb president.