House told to mind its own affairs<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): In his much-anticipated public address after
\nbeing censured for the second time by the House of
\nRepresentatives (DPR), President Abdurrahman Wahid rebuked the
\nHouse on Wednesday for neglecting its main legislative duties.<\/p>\n
Speaking in a nationally-televised address, Abdurrahman
\nskirted the House's second memorandum of censure on his
\nleadership which could lead to his impeachment. On the contrary,
\nhe reminded the House to mind its own business.<\/p>\n
\"The government, in this case the executive, the legislative
\nand judicial branches, each has its own duties,\" the President
\nsaid in an address broadcast by the state-owned TVRI channel.<\/p>\n
\"The DPR should make laws and there are now some 160 draft
\nlaws that need to be immediately deliberated.\"<\/p>\n
Many believe that Abdurrahman's days are numbered after the
\nHouse voted overwhelmingly on Monday for the second memorandum of
\ncensure against him.<\/p>\n
The House in its second censure accused Abdurrahman of failing
\nto heed warnings contained in the first memorandum issued on Feb.
\n1.<\/p>\n
The first memorandum was based on a House probe that found
\nAbdurrahman could have been implicated in two multi-million
\ndollar financial scandals.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman maintained, however, that under the 1945
\nConstitution, the President could only be held accountable by the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly (MPR), and not the House.<\/p>\n
\"The MPR's main task is to monitor the government so that it
\nwill not deviate from the right course,\" the President said.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman has repeatedly said that he should only be held
\naccountable by the MPR at the end of his term in 2004.<\/p>\n
\"The government's honest accountability to the people is
\nessential and inevitable, and this is promised by the
\ngovernment,\" Abdurrahman said.<\/p>\n
Prior to his television address, Abdurrahman held a breakfast
\nmeeting with popular Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri that
\nwas described by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto as
\nfriendly.<\/p>\n
Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
\nPerjuangan), the largest at the House, spearheaded the House's
\nmove to rebuke Abdurrahman for the second time.<\/p>\n
While the President has until May 30 to respond to the second
\ncensure, a team of Cabinet members, led by Coordinating Minister
\nfor Political, Social and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang
\nYudhoyono, has been trying to put forward some proposals for
\nAbdurrahman to consider within this short period.<\/p>\n
Team member Defense Minister Mahfud M.D. said on Wednesday the
\nteam had proposed a Cabinet reshuffle by involving major
\npolitical parties as a means of increasing power sharing between
\nthe President and Vice President.<\/p>\n
\"If the option is power sharing, the ministers, especially
\nthose in the political, social and security fields, will invite
\nthe President and the Vice President to rearrange the Cabinet, if
\nthe present one is deemed not to be effective,\" Mahfud said.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the Vice President's office after attending a
\nmeeting there, Mahfud said that the Cabinet reshuffle option was
\ndiscussed by the President and Susilo's team on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Mahfud said, however, that the ministers' recommendations did
\nnot include that the President resign or hand over full power to
\nMegawati.<\/p>\n
Mahfud's statement came amid reports that Megawati's PDI
\nPerjuangan was also coming forward with a set of proposals.<\/p>\n
Suara Pembaruan afternoon daily newspaper quoted PDI
\nPerjuangan deputy chairman Karel Lukas Degey as saying on
\nWednesday that the party had also proposed a Cabinet reshuffle,
\nAbdurrahman's immediate resignation or a full handover of the
\nday-to-day administration to Megawati.<\/p>\n
Pramono Anung Wibowo, the party's deputy secretary-general,
\nflatly denied the reports.<\/p>\n
\"The report is totally untrue. We had a meeting with Mbak Mega
\non Tuesday but there was no discussion of that\", he told The
\nJakarta Post later in the day.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a source close to the President said that
\nresignation was one of the options mentioned by Susilo's team
\nduring its meeting with the President.<\/p>\n
\"The resignation, power sharing with the Vice President and
\nCabinet reshuffle were all mentioned, but within the context of
\npolitical compromise,\" the source said.<\/p>\n
\"However, they underlined power sharing as the best choice and
\na Cabinet reshuffle would be within the power sharing scheme,\"
\nthe source added.<\/p>\n
Another source at the Operations Center, established at
\nSusilo's office a few months ago to monitor and make
\nrecommendations on various national developments, also said that
\nthe resignation proposal was conveyed to Abdurrahman by Cabinet
\nmembers on Tuesday. (byg\/dja\/rms)<\/p>",
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