The 1945 Constitution

The Constitution of the Republic Indonesia, or generally referred to as the 1945 constitution, came into force on 18th August 1945. It is a written constitution and constitutes the basic law of the Republic of Indonesia. It contains basic arrangements concerning the functioning of the state, its objectives, and social security for the whole of the Indonesian people. Since 2004, there are some additional and adjustment in the articles of 1945 Constitution.

According to the 1945 Constitution, there are six organs of the state:

1. The People’s Consultative Assembly;

2. The Presidency;

3. The House of Representative;

4. The State Audit Board;

5. The Supreme Court;

 

The People’s Consultative Assembly

 

Article 1 of 1945 Constitution states that Indonesia is a republic with sovereignty vested in the people to be fully exercised by an elected People’s Consultative Assembly, which is the highest political institution in the state. Since the Assembly holds the supreme power in the state, the people voice their political and social aspirations through this body.

 

The major tasks of Assembly are to sanction the Constitution and decide the Guidelines of the State policy. The membership of the assembly’s consists of House members and augmented by delegates of regions and groupings. The total number of Assembly is 1000 members, comprising of House of Representative members, delegates of regions and groupings.

 

In relation to the Assembly, President is its Mandatory and, as such, is accountable to the Assembly for the conduct of government. The President is assisted by the Vice-President. The Chairman of Assembly is assisted by five Vice-Chairmans, and elected among members.

 

 

The Presidency

 

In the government system of Indonesia, the President is both head of state and chief executive He holds office for a term of five years an is eligible for re-election. Since the General Election in year 2004, the President and Vice-President is elected directly by peoples. The president must execute his duties in compliance with the guidelines of state policy as decreed by the Assembly.

 

Indonesian president, H.E. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, formed a United Indonesia Cabinet comprising coordinating minister, ministers, and state ministers. The structure and organization of governmental departments are uniform, as provided for in Presidential Decision No. 44 of 1974. This requires that a government department shall consist of four components, namely:

1. The leadership, which is in the hand of the minister;

2. The administrative services headed by a secretary general;

3. The operational service, each headed by a director general;

4. The institutional control, to be exercised by an inspector general.

 

 

The House of Representatives

 

The membership of the House of Representatives is composed of political organizations representatives. During general elections, the provinces form constituencies and are entitled to representation by elected members (according to the number of each provincial population).

 

Deliberations are held in the House to reach a consensus (mufakat) or voting on any question. The voting requires the presence of all factions and a quorum of two-thirds of the total membership of the House. Resolutions and decisions are adopted by majority votes. Annual session of the House starts on August 16 (the day before Indonesia’s independence day) and ends on August 15 of the following years. Each session is divided into meetings with intervals for recesses. At the opening of each annual session, The President delivers his state address reviewing the developments of the past year and outlines the prospects for coming year.

 

As the body of state, the House has tasks to consider and approve the bills submitted by Government. But, the members of the House also can initiate their own bills which must be accompanied by an explanatory memorandum signed by at least 30 members. If the House passes the bill it will become law when it has obtained the signature of the President.

 

 

The State Audit Board

 

According to the constitution, the function of the State Audit Board is to conduct official examinations of government financial accounts. The findings of the Board are submitted to the House of Representative, which approves the government budget. In his annual state address on August 16, the President reports to the House on the Government’s performance during the past fiscal year. Detailed accounts of government revenues and expenditures and a full report on the progress achieved in development and administration are recounted in the supplement to the president speech.

 

 

The Supreme Court

 

The Supreme Court is the judicial arm of the state and exists beside the legislative and the executive branches. It enjoys an independent status in the socio-political fabrict. It was not until 1968 that the restructuring of Supreme Court was completed to meet the conditions set out in the 1945 Constitution, i.e. to be free from government intervention in the exercise of justice. In 1970 a law was enacted that laid down the basic principle of Indonesia’s judicial powers

 

 

Local Government

 

According to the Law No. 22 of 1999 on Regional Administration (Autonomy), there are two local administrations namely the level of province headed by governor as head of region, and district/municipality (Kabupaten) headed by district head. The decentralization principle is fully adopted so that they function as autonomous region. The structure and organization of local government follow the pattern of the national government. On the national level, the President is the Chief Executive and works with a cabinet of ministers. Next to the national executive is the House of Representatives, with whom the government enacts laws and determines the national budget.

 

Similarly in the province, the Governor is the Chief Executive in the province and works with a staff of regional officials. Side by side is the provincial legislative, with whom the regional government concurs on regional legislation and decisions on the budget. On the district (Kabupaten), the chief executive are respectively District Head (Bupati/Walikota). Bupati concurs with the local legislative on matters to local government regulation and the budget.

 

Both the provincial and district municipality governments are granted autonomy. The governor and district head holds office for a term of five years an is eligible for re-election. The governor and vice-governor are elected by provincial legislature, and based on the election result and recommendation of Minster of Home Affairs, President will determine the winning of candidates. For the district head, the candidates are elected directly by their local people.

 

 

THE UNITED INDONESIA CABINET