Gus Dur given three months after August<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly
\n(MPR) Amien Rais has called on President Abdurrahman Wahid to
\nimprove his administration and gave him two to three months after
\nthe August General Session to achieve positive results.<\/p>\n
\"The Indonesia population of 210 million cannot be held
\nhostage by one person named Abdurrahman Wahid. Whether or not he
\nwill continue (as President) will totally depend on the 700-
\nmember MPR, as it is stipulated in the democratic process,\" Amien
\ntold visiting students from various universities at his office.<\/p>\n
The students aired concern that President Abdurrahman Wahid
\nwas plaguing the country with economic, investment, security and
\npolitical uncertainties which they feared would lead to national
\ndisintegration.<\/p>\n
Amien maintained on Tuesday that the General Session would not
\nbe used to unseat Abdurrahman.<\/p>\n
\"He should be given a chance for two to three months after
\nAugust and if he fails to improve himself and the country's
\neconomy, the people's mandate (entrusted to Abdurrahman) should
\nbe returned,\" he told the students.<\/p>\n
\"It's up to the people. In the session, I will only bang my
\ngavel for the democratic processes of the 700 MPR members,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
The students rallied at the House complex to demand that the
\nAssembly prompt a vote of no confidence against the President in
\nthe upcoming session.<\/p>\n
They said the Assembly should press the President to step down
\nbecause he and his administration had failed to make any progress
\nin their efforts to cope with the political instability and
\ndefuse the economic crisis.<\/p>\n
In response to the demand, Amien said the majority of the
\nAssembly's 700 members remained critical of the government and it
\nwas in their hands whether the President would continue to stay
\nin power.<\/p>\n
But he asserted the Assembly would not breach the rules on
\nwhat the General Session was for and how it should be held.<\/p>\n
\"The Assembly should stick to the rules of the game on how the
\nGeneral Session should be organized and it should respect the
\nConstitution, which stipulates a five-year term in office for the
\npresident,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Irzan Tandjung, an economics professor at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia, warned that the condition of the state
\nwould worsen if the President was forced to step down in the
\nsession.<\/p>\n
\"There is no guarantee that the political situation will get
\nbetter if the current government is replaced. According to
\nintellectuals across the country, the situation will get worse if
\nwe have a new government,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the political instability had a lot to do not only
\nwith the government's poor performance but with the friction
\namong elite political groups, security authorities' failure in
\nrestoring order and security and the poor behavior of the
\nmajority of legislators.<\/p>\n
\"My point is that replacing the government will not solve the
\nnational crisis,\" he said. (rms)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gus-dur-given-three-months-after-august-1447893297",
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