Abdurrahman's options<\/p>\n
Hardly a day seems to pass these days without President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid getting himself embroiled in one controversy or
\nanother with either the House of Representatives (DPR) or the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly (MPR). The latest spat concerns
\nthe rather sudden dismissal, by the President, of the chief of
\nthe National Police, Gen. Rusdihardjo, on Monday.<\/p>\n
The debate, which in the past days has widened to involve more
\nlegislators and observers on both sides of the controversy, is
\ncentered mainly on the question of whether the President's action
\nto dismiss the chief of police is or isn't constitutionally
\nvalid.<\/p>\n
Those who contend that Abdurrahman's action is
\nunconstitutional base their argument on a legislative decree --
\nMPR Decree No.VI\/MPR\/2000 to be precise -- which states that the
\nNational Police is headed by a chief of police who is appointed
\nand dismissed by the President with the consent of the DPR.<\/p>\n
Those who say that the President has acted within his
\nconstitutional rights, on the other hand, point to another
\narticle in the same decree which states that the whole procedure
\nis to be regulated in a law, which has yet to be drafted and
\npassed. Since at present such a law does not exist, under the
\nprevailing law the President is authorized to act on the matter
\nat his own discretion.<\/p>\n
The question is: Which of the two arguments is right?<\/p>\n
This is obviously a question for the nation's legislators and
\nexperts on constitutional law to answer. The dismal reality,
\nhowever, is that Indonesians can, under current circumstances,
\nhardly afford the time to publicly debate the issue or wait for
\nthe House of Representatives to pass such a law.<\/p>\n
As has been pointed out many times before, a series of bloody
\nriots, acts of destruction, willful and fatal shootings of
\nprotesters -- ostensibly by rogue members of the military or
\npolice -- have in the past few years rocked Jakarta. Not one of
\nthose incidents have been brought to a conclusion that was
\nsatisfactory to the public. Time and again, the investigators
\nseemed to hit a wall of impunity as soon as the inquiry appeared
\nto come close to implicating certain untouchable elements,
\nespecially among the police or military.<\/p>\n
Since the bombing at the Attorney General's Office in July, at
\nleast five bombing incidents have rocked this city. After the
\nbombs that exploded in front of the Philippine ambassador's
\nresidence and at the Malaysian Embassy, another device exploded
\nand wrecked a minibus near the Ministry of Agriculture building
\nin South Jakarta where former president Soeharto was to stand
\ntrial. But though shocked at the realization that acts of terror
\nhave come to the city, it was only with the latest bombing at the
\nJakarta Stock Exchange that Jakartans began to take the terrorist
\nthreat seriously. Of these bombing incidents too, not one has
\nbeen cleared up.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, violence in Maluku, Aceh and other troubled
\nareas continues. A militia attack in Atambua in West Timor which
\nleft three UN aid workers dead and scores of others injured has
\nIndonesia feeling the wrath of the international community.<\/p>\n
Given these circumstances, President Abdurrahman's seemingly
\nsudden replacement of Gen. Rusdihardjo can certainly be
\nunderstood. Obviously, the President must have acted on
\nintelligence information which he regarded reliable, thus
\nwarranting a speedy replacement of the National Police chief.
\nSimilarly the removal of Gen. Fachrul Razi, the deputy chief of
\nthe Indonesian Military (TNI) must be seen in this context.<\/p>\n
Admittedly, the confusion over the legality of the President's
\naction is providing yet another negative signal to would-be
\ninvestors and market players. Clearly the country is at present
\nin no condition to dwell on the controversy. The best solution
\nthat can be found under the circumstances would be for the
\nPresident to consult the DPR at the earliest possible opportunity
\nto have his action validated, and for the DPR to pass the law as
\nrequired.<\/p>\n
Disheartening as the situation already is, the nation has no
\nneed for any more controversies that could stall its economic
\nrecovery.<\/p>",
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