Gus Dur's personal wishes<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post on Jan. 6, 2001, published a letter from
\nAdhie M. Massardi, the presidential spokesman, on comments made
\nby Adi Sasono over President Abdurrahman Wahid's statement
\nconcerning the New Order regime. Adhie quoted the President's
\nremark that not all elements of the New Order or Golkar were bad
\nand not all non-New Order elements were good. The President
\ndisagrees with the generalization of matters concerning the past
\nregime.<\/p>\n
I find Gus Dur's stance on the issue fair, but I am
\nquestioning his criteria in rejecting the candidacies of both
\nMuladi and Bagir Manan for Supreme Court chief justice, as
\nreported in the Post's Jan. 6 page 2 article, President denies
\nshifting task to VP.<\/p>\n
If the President's rejection was not due to their ties with
\nthe New Order, would it be due to their dishonesty? Gus Dur did
\nmake a remark about Muladi's past failure to pay his income tax.<\/p>\n
It appears to me that Gus Dur has, on several occasions,
\nplaced his personal wishes above the wishes of the public, as
\nchanneled through the House of Representatives. The firing of
\nLaksamana Sukardi and Jusuf Kalla from their ministerial posts
\nand Rusdihardjo as National Police chief, and Sjahril Sabirin's
\ndetention, are some examples of the President acting according to
\nhis personal dislikes.<\/p>\n
The debate over the Supreme Court chief justice post is still
\ncontinuing, while Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri has
\nturned down the mandate of choosing alternative candidates,
\nreturning the responsibility to the President. On the other hand,
\nGus Dur seems firm in his refusal. The public is waiting for the
\noutcome this matter, which could increase the country's political
\nand economic instability.<\/p>\n
Y. LUCAS<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gus-durs-personal-wishes-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }