Decision on Bambang postponed<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): House Speaker Wahono, defying speculation that
\nhe would buckle under Golkar pressure, decided yesterday to
\npostpone a decision on expelling legislator Bambang Warih
\nKoesoemo until next week.<\/p>\n
After leading a three-hour meeting between the leaders of the
\nHouse of Representatives (DPR), Wahono decided he and his
\ndeputies needed more time and \"input\" before making a decision.<\/p>\n
Deputy house speaker Soetedjo, from the Armed Forces (ABRI)
\nfaction, was chosen to meet with reporters on Wahono's behalf and
\ndenied suggestions that they were stalling.<\/p>\n
\"Insya Allah (God willing), we will discuss the matter again
\nin the DPR leadership meeting next week,\" he said.<\/p>\n
According to Soetedjo, Wahono spent most of his time in the
\nmeeting explaining the chronology of events leading to the Golkar
\nexecutive board's proposal to have Bambang removed from the DPR.<\/p>\n
However, they would need \"more input\" before bringing the
\nproposal to President Soeharto for final approval, Soetedjo said.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Golkar deputy chairman Agung Laksono felt strongly
\nthat Wahono, a Golkar member, would eventually make a ruling in
\nGolkar's favor.<\/p>\n
Soetedjo firmly stated yesterday, however, that Golkar's
\nreasons for dismissing Bambang, including his purported
\nmisconduct during hearings with cabinet ministers, were not
\nadequate for DPR leaders to issue a ruling.<\/p>\n
\"We still need to hear from various parties before we can
\ndecide whether to endorse Golkar's proposal,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Soetedjo described the meeting, held behind closed doors, as
\nbarely touching on the substance of the issue.<\/p>\n
\"We haven't really discussed the case, we only listened to the
\nHouse Speaker's explanation about how he received two letters
\nfrom Golkar,\" Soetedjo said.<\/p>\n
The first letter was Golkar's proposal to have Bambang Warih
\nKoesoemo removed from the DPR, while the second was addressed to
\nPresident Soeharto, requesting his approval. Under the existing
\nHouse statutes, Wahono can nullify the proposal by withholding
\nthe letter addressed to President Soeharto.<\/p>\n
The meeting apparently took three hours because the DPR
\nleaders were discussing many other things apart from Bambang's
\ndismissal.<\/p>\n
\"We are not stalling. We haven't discussed calling Bambang to
\nhear from him directly,\" Soetedjo said.<\/p>\n
However, Soetedjo promised that the DPR leaders would do their
\nbest to issue a ruling on the case as soon as possible. \"We don't
\nwant to see public debate grow\" uncontrollably, he said.<\/p>\n
Bambang, a long-serving Golkar member known for his
\noutspokenness, grabbed media attention last year when he
\ndisclosed a major bad-loan scandal involving one of Golkar's
\ndonors.<\/p>\n
Two weeks ago, Golkar's executive board announced that it was
\nfiring Bambang from his legislative posts for various acts of
\nmisconduct, including his supposedly offensive way of dealing
\nwith government officials during his hearings.<\/p>\n
Bambang, for instance, was considered guilty of demanding that
\nMinister of Manpower Abdul Latief resign from his job, something
\nGolkar considered a gross violation since \"hiring and firing
\nministers is the President's prerogative\".<\/p>\n
Bambang was also said to be guilty of offending Minister of
\nFinance Mar'ie Muhammad in such a way that the offense could not
\neven be made public.<\/p>\n
Bambang flatly denied all accusations leveled against him,
\nsaying that they were all \"one big slander\" and that his leaders'
\nproposal to have him removed was \"a political maneuver\". He then
\nestablished a team of eight lawyers to take up his case should he
\ndecide to sue the grouping's leaders. (swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/decision-on-bambang-postponed-1447893297",
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