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Islam, Democracy and Human Rights in Contemporary Indonesia69political positions that he held were no more than a mandate tobe fulfilled. His interest in the political arena was not motivatedby personal interests, but a call of duty. As such, Natsir wasunpredictably elected as a member of Komite NasionalIndonesia Pusat (KNIP - The Central Indonesian NationalCommittee) on 29 August 1945. He was active in making abreakthrough to defend Indonesian independence, which wasstill threatened by the Dutch, who wanted to prolong theirauthority in Indonesia.After the KNIP%u2019s reorganization, changing its function toParlemen Sementara Republik Indonesia (TemporaryParliament of the Republic of Indonesia), Natsir was elected asa member of the Badan Pekerja (Executive Committee) of thiscouncil. From the start of his leadership, he appeared to be aconstitutionalist supporter who wanted law as the basis of thestate authority. For this reason, in the meeting of Badan Pekerjaof KNIP held in November 1945, Natsir criticized thegovernment, which changed the state system from presidentialto parliamentary, and followed up with the appointment ofSjahrir as the first prime minister of the Republic of Indonesia.Natsir basically did not hold the opinion that a presidentialsystem was superior to a parliamentary one, because, in hisview, the system was only a matter of situational demand. Helaunched criticism on the way Vice-President Mohammad Hattareplaced the system by issuing Government Decision NumberX, 16 October 1945, which, according to Natsir, violated theconstitution. Even though he opposed this procedure ofreplacement, he finally accepted it on the basis that this decisionwas seen as a state convention, the implementation of whichwas %u201cacceptable%u201d in the state administration. To mobilize