Soesatyo also clarified that he had never said that political parties agreed to the amendment, as the consensus for it had yet to be reached.
"I spoke only about aspirations (from political parties) to consider a thorough amendment to the 1945 Constitution. I did not state that all political parties have agreed to an amendment," Soesatyo noted as per the statement received here on Friday (June 7).
The speaker is seeking to refute a report filed against him by a university student named Azhari with the parliament's Honorary Council on Thursday (June 6). Azhari reported Soesatyo for misleadingly claiming that all parliament's caucuses have agreed to amend the Constitution.
Soesatyo remarked that aspirations for a constitutional amendment had been conveyed by national figures, who expect the parliament to comprehensively examine potential amendments by conducting academic studies.
He opined that the 1945 Constitution, which has been amended four times, had led to the nation losing its course and becoming disoriented, while calling for a rectification of the mistake.
"Even Amien Rais, the 11th MPR speaker, has expressed regret and apology for amending the Constitution in the 1999-2002 period," he pointed out.
If all political parties concurred on a constitutional amendment, the process would be initiated by members of the 2024-2029 Parliament elected in the last election since it would take at least six months, he explained.
The MPR speaker is also optimistic that the incoming parliament will expedite efforts to "perfect" Indonesia's Constitution and reform the nation's politics and democracy in accordance with the national character.
"Hence, I regret that M. Azhari has spread hoaxes as defined by the Electronic Information and Transactions Law (UU ITE). I hope he, who represents Muslim students in Jakarta, realizes his mistake," he remarked.
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Translator: Melalusa Susthira, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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