Gus Dur walks out of scandals hearing<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid on Monday left
\nlegislators dumbfounded as he abruptly walked out of a meeting
\nwith the House of Representatives' special committee
\ninvestigating the Bulog and Brunei scandals.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman surprised everyone as he left the meeting hall at
\nthe Jakarta Convention Center only some 45 minutes into the
\nscheduled two-hour session.<\/p>\n
The President refused to say anything as he left the hall but
\nlater called a snap news briefing at the presidential palace to
\ndefend his action.<\/p>\n
\"I was asking for clarification whether (the committee) is a
\npolitical forum or legal forum ... since no answer was given (by
\nmembers of the committee), I thought it was unnecessary to
\ncontinue the meeting,\" Abdurrahman said.<\/p>\n
\"I left after it was clear that the committee could not give
\nan answer,\" Abdurrahman added.<\/p>\n
He said he had agreed to come to the meeting because he
\nthought the special committee had realized that it was not a
\nlegal forum.<\/p>\n
The President has repeatedly questioned the legality of the
\nspecial committee, contending that it was not registered at the
\nstate secretariat as required by a 1954 law.<\/p>\n
The committee is seeking to question Abdurrahman about the
\nfraudulent withdrawal of Rp 35 billion (US$3.3 million) from the
\nState Logistics Agency (Bulog) by his masseur and also a $2
\nmillion donation from the Sultan of Brunei which the President
\nclaims was a personal gift.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman said he had already answered questions regarding
\nthe cases and that further queries \"should be made within a
\npolitical context\".<\/p>\n
\"Any information (given to the committee) cannot be used as
\nlegal evidence against anyone,\" Abdurrahman said, adding that the
\nscandals should be settled in a court of law.<\/p>\n
He then accused members of the committee of using the scandals
\n\"to undermine the authority of the government and the President\".<\/p>\n
\"So, what's happening here is character assassination,\"
\nAbdurrahman charged.<\/p>\n
Monday's hearing was conducted at the Jakarta Convention
\nCenter as it was considered a neutral alternative to the House
\ncomplex or the palace.<\/p>\n
Heated<\/p>\n
This latest episode is sure to strain even further the already
\nuneasy relations between the President and the legislature,
\nparticularly as the committee is set to reveal its findings on
\nJan. 29.<\/p>\n
Special committee chairman Bachtiar Chamsyah affirmed that the
\nPresident's walkout would only worsen the already strained
\nrelations between the palace and the House.<\/p>\n
Alvin Lie Pie Hong, deputy chairman of the special committee,
\nquestioned the President's sudden departure.<\/p>\n
\"There was no reason for Gus Dur to become emotional ... the
\nPresident failed to uphold mutual respect between the legislative
\nbody and the presidency,\" he said.<\/p>\n
But committee member Ali Masjkur Musa, from Abdurrahman's
\nNational Awakening Party, said he understood the reasons for the
\nPresident's abrupt leaving.<\/p>\n
\"It was reasonable for the President to leave. The President
\nis of the opinion that the meeting was not an investigation and,
\ntherefore, he did not see any point in answering the questions
\nfrom the special committee,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He claimed that his faction supported an investigation into
\nthe two scandals but so far there were no sufficient grounds to
\nestablish the special committee.<\/p>\n
Ali Masjkur also said that his faction was considering
\nrejecting the investigation's results as it was too politicized.<\/p>\n
\"From the start, the investigation has been engineered by
\ncertain groups in the special committee to come to the conclusion
\nthat the President was involved in the scandals and their main
\nobjective is to discredit the government so that a general
\nelection and a presidential election can be held again,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sources inside the closed door meeting said the President
\nbefore leaving admitted that he had met former trade minister
\nYusuf Kalla and former Bulog deputy chief Sapuan in December 1999
\nto seek Rp 435 million for humanitarian aid to Aceh.<\/p>\n
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said that despite the absence of
\na clarification from the President, the House's special committee
\nwould continue its investigation into the scandals.<\/p>\n
\"The House will hold a plenary session to receive the special
\ncommittee's report on the results of the investigation. It will
\ndepend on the factions as to whether they will accept the report
\nor not,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He hinted that the way the President left the meeting was
\nimpolite.<\/p>\n
\"We have a code of ethics,\" Akbar remarked. (byg\/rms)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gus-dur-walks-out-of-scandals-hearing-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }