Presidential System and GBHN
The General Session of the People\'s Consultative Assembly (MPR) next October will discuss the proposal of the Fifth Amendment to the 1945 Constitution. The proposed amendment is that the authority to determine the State Policy Guideline (GBHN) and the authority as the highest state institution be returned to the MPR.
President Jokowi, for example, agreed to the proposal on the importance of the GBHN, but the President said he did not agree to the MPR being returned as the highest state institution. I view that the GBHN can be re-incorporated into the 1945 Constitution, but it should not crash into the standard form of presidential government that has been "purified" in the amendments to the 1945 Constitution in 2001 and 2002.
The standard form of presidential government basically consists of four characteristics. First, the position of head of state and the position of head of government is held by a president. The head of state of all countries that adopt the form of a republic is a president. The head of government of all countries that use a presidential form of government is a president. If using the form of a republic, but adopting a parliamentary form of government, the two positions are held by different people: the head of state is elected by the people\'s representatives of the election results, such as India and Germany, while the head of government is elected from and by parliament.
However, if adopting a republic form and a presidential form of government, a president as head of state and head of government is directly elected by the people through elections. The presidential election system in countries in the form of presidential government is generally based on the most popular votes, except in some countries, such as Indonesia, where it is not only based on the most votes, but also the support of the majority of the provinces. If the president is elected by the MPR, it follows the standard form of parliamentary government.
If the president and vice president are elected by the MPR, it will not only damage the form of presidential government that had been purified in 2001 and 2002, but will also lead to an unstable and ineffective government. This last thing happens not only because since 1999, Indonesia has implemented a multiparty system, but also since the 1999 election until the 2019 election, it has never produced an election winning political party that reaches the majority, even the percentage of votes obtained by the party winning the election dropped steadily from 33 percent in 1999 to around 19 percent in 2019.
The government that was formed was even unstable because it could be dismissed by the MPR in the middle of the road even though it had not been proven to violate the law.
The president and vice president chosen by the MPR from many parties that have a relatively equal number of seats is the result of compromise. It is not impossible that the elected president will not come from the party that wins the election, like the president chosen by the MPR in 1999. The government that was formed was even unstable because it could be dismissed by the MPR in the middle of the road even though it had not been proven to violate the law.
Second, the relationship between the authority of the president as the chief executive and the DPR as the legislative body does not supervise each other because both the DPR and the president are directly elected by the people through elections. The president and the DPR are equally strong because the legitimacy of their power comes from the people and is accountable to the people. Therefore, the president is not accountable to the DPR, but the president cannot dissolve the DPR.
In carrying out the legislative and budgetary functions, there are differences among countries in the partnership relationship between the president and the DPR. The power of the Indonesian president in the field of legislation and budget is greater than the power of the president of the United States. This is because the formation of all laws must involve a president who has the same authority as the DPR. The DPR can submit bills, but if the president is not willing to discuss them, the bills will never become laws. However, once bills are proposed by the president to the DPR, if the DPR does not agree, the bills will never become laws.
The US Congress can form laws without involving the president. The president can indeed veto a law he disagrees with, but 60 or more senators can defeat the president\'s veto. In Indonesia only the president can submit a draft state budget (RAPBN). If the DPR does not agree with the RAPBN proposed by the president, the president can issue a government regulation to enact the previous year\'s state budget. Both Congress and the president in the US can submit a draft state budget, but if they don\'t reach an agreement, the government will be paralyzed (and must lay off federal employees) because there is no budget available.
Ministers, as presidential assistants, must listen to and answer questions from DPR members.
Third, ministers as Cabinet members are appointed and dismissed by the president. A minister may not simultaneously hold legislative (DPR) or judicial positions (judges). Therefore, the minister is fully responsible to the president. The minister is the president\'s assistant as head of state and head of government. The president must cooperate with the DPR in forming the laws and the state budget, but running the laws and the state budget is an independent function of the president. Similarly with the DPR. The DPR must cooperate with the president in the formation of laws and the state budget, but carry out supervision on the implementation of the laws and the state budget is the function of the DPR itself. Ministers, as presidential assistants, are partners with commissions in the DPR in discussing and agreeing to the laws and the state budget. Ministers, as presidential assistants, must listen to and answer questions from DPR members.
In a country that uses a parliamentary form of government, every week a prime minister (PM) as head of government must listen and answer questions and criticism from the parliament (opposition). The president as head of government in a country that adopts a presidential form of government only once a year appears in the DPR, namely when delivering financial notes and delivering state speeches commemorating the independence day.
Fourth, the president\'s term is permanent (four years for the US, five years for Indonesia, six years for France). The term of office of a PM as head of government is not permanent because at any time he can be given a motion of no confidence by the parliament. The president as head of state and head of government can be dismissed if he is proven to violate laws (such as treason, corruption and disgraceful actions). The impeachment of the president in Brazil starts from the political process in the House of Representatives and the Senate and then trials in the Supreme Court. In Indonesia, the legal process (tried by the Constitutional Court on the allegations of the DPR) and if proven guilty then enters the political process at the MPR.
If the MPR is determined as the country\'s highest institution, the president and deputy may be dismissed halfway simply due to political considerations. Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) was dismissed by the MPR not because he was proven to have violated the law (accusations against Gus Dur were never proven in court), but this form deviated from the presidential government standard, namely the president and vice president are elected by the people through elections, and a stable presidential government because it is bound to a term of office unless the president is proven to have violated the law.
All high state institutions in the form of a republic and a presidential form of government have different functions (duties and authorities), but have an equal position.
Article 6A of the 1945 Constitution, as a product of the Third and Fourth Amendments to the 1945 Constitution, is seen as refining the form of presidential government because it follows the four abovementioned standards. However, the form of presidential government being adopted is by no means a photocopy of another country\'s presidential form of government. If the MPR is established as the country\'s highest institution, it will inevitably deviate from the standard form of presidential government because the president and the DPR are both elected and accountable to the people. All high state institutions in the form of a republic and a presidential form of government have different functions (duties and authorities), but have an equal position.
Re-entering GBHN
The question is how to re-enter the GBHN without "damaging" the standard form of presidential government that has been carried out since 2004. Which should not be taken has already been stated above. The GBHN is said to be needed because the Indonesian state did not have a long-term development plan, so changing the president means changing the policies. What is adopted as a "substitute" for GBHN so far is the National Long-Term Development Plan (RPJP), which is a development planning document for a period of 20 years. The current National RPJP is carried out based on Law No. 17/2007 on National RPJP 2005 to 2025. In addition to the National RPJP, a National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJM) has also been established for a five-year period. To implement the National RPJP, the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) has compiled four RPJMs. This document outlines the vision and direction of national development in all fields.
In the Indonesian political scene, the term vision and direction of national development is known in Law No. 17/2007, and the terms vision, mission and program are required to be compiled by every electoral participant as campaign material for elections which are held periodically every five years. The term like this need to be "disciplined". According to my reading, the vision of the state of Indonesia has been formulated in the Preamble and the Body of the 1945 Constitution. Therefore, all election participants or state administrators do not need to formulate a new vision of the Indonesian state, but adhere to what has been determined by the founders of the nation.
The GBHN is a state mission for the long term of 50 years as the implementation of the vision of the Indonesian state based on the 1945 Constitution. The GBHN is the direction of the Indonesian state. What is offered as campaign material by election participants is a measurable program for one term of five years to implement the GBHN. Thus, the campaign material delivered to the people by each pair of candidates, political parties participating in the election, and candidates for Regional Representatives Council [DPD (individuals)] every five years is operational. If the GBHN is formulated to "create a corruption-free state", election participants must formulate concrete and operational programs to prevent and eradicate corruption.
Thus, voters will be able to sort and consider the quality of candidates and the direction of the programs offered so that in time they can make decisions about the election participants to be chosen.
If in the GBHN it is formulated "creating employment opportunities for each workforce", then election participants offer programs that are able to create employment opportunities, and programs that are able to create a workforce that has the ability and skills. Thus, voters will be able to sort and consider the quality of candidates and the direction of the programs offered so that in time they can make decisions about the election participants to be chosen.
All state institutions [established based on the 1945 Constitution, such as the DPR, DPD, president and vice president, the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK)] are required to report verbally and in writing the results of the implementation of the GBHN in their area of work in a year (annual) and in five years (end of term of office) to the MPR. The annual and five-yearly reports are institutional reports on the implementation of the GBHN in their area of work. The report is not a personal accountability report of the office holder and therefore is not related to the term of office (for example the MPR cannot dismiss the president and/or vice present because of his report). The report will be useful for a nation (because it illustrates the extent to which the GBHN has been reached) and for voters in determining the organizers of the next period. The accountability given by the president and the DPR to the voters at the end of their term of office, for example, is not as detailed as a report to the MPR.
Ramlan Surbakti, Professor of Comparative Politics at Airlangga University, Surabaya; member of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences