Emasculation of the presidency<\/p>\n
On Aug. 7 President Abdurrahman Wahid gave his progress report
\nbefore the Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly
\n(MPR). On Aug. 8 the MPR members responded negatively, in
\nparticular criticizing the President's management failures.
\nAfter failing for months to heed warnings that his style of
\nmanaging government affairs was not succeeding, it took the
\nPresident only two days to announce what sounds like a major
\npresidential management innovation. On Aug. 9 the President
\nannounced that to improve his performance, he would delegate
\nresponsibility for day-to-day details on domestic matters to Vice
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri. What's wrong with this picture?<\/p>\n
The President has announced that he will delegate management
\nresponsibility for \"the day-to-day technical details of running
\nthe government\" to someone who has no more of a track record for
\nmodern management expertise or orientation to technical details
\nthan he does. One must wonder what the President is thinking of.
\nOne must wonder why the same MPR members who criticized the
\nPresident's lack of management expertise have so eagerly embraced
\nthis proposition.<\/p>\n
The President's errors of judgment, tactical mistakes, and
\nmanagement failures have weakened his authority dangerously.
\nPolitical figures feel emboldened to prey on the President's
\nweakness to wrest the presidency from him, if not in name then in
\neffect. Knowing that impeachment could be a fatal wound to
\neconomic recovery, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
\n(PDI-Perjuangan) and the Functional Group (Golkar) instead
\nengineered the President's capitulation to a constitutionally
\ndefective form of power-sharing with a Vice President whose
\nstrengths do not complement the President's but replicate them.
\nPresident Abdurrahman \"Gus Dur\" Wahid might have needed a wake up
\ncall from the MPR, but he should not have his presidential role
\nlimited this way. This is a victory for backroom politics and a
\nsetback for constitutional government.<\/p>\n
DONNA K. WOODWARD<\/p>\n
Medan, North Sumatra<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/emasculation-of-the-presidency-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }