The July 5, 1959 Presidential Decree
May 20, 2008
This decree represented President Sukarno’s decision to dissolve the highest state institution—the Constituent Assembly—a product of the 1955 General Elections. This institution was perceived to have failed in producing a new constitution to replace the 1950 Provisional Constitution. There were sharp ideological differences among the Constituent Assembly members over whether the constitution should be secular or religion-based. This decree
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