It's all up to Gus Dur<\/p>\n
Those seeking to remove President Abdurrahman Wahid from
\noffice apparently will stop at nothing in their campaign. After
\nthe House of Representatives issued a memorandum of censure
\nagainst the head of state, we have seen a host of other measures
\nand proposals bandied about, all with the ultimate goal of
\nremoving the President from office now, rather than in 2004 when
\nhis term officially ends.<\/p>\n
Rather than follow the mechanisms of the House's memorandum of
\ncensure, which would take about five months before opening the
\npossibility of impeachment, critics and opponents of the
\nPresident have been pressuring him to step aside, either
\ngracefully or by force, immediately.<\/p>\n
Some have suggested he step down rather than being disgraced
\nby having to go through the impeachment process. To add to the
\npressure, there have been various demonstrations demanding his
\nresignation.<\/p>\n
Failing to get their message across to the President, his
\nopponents are toying with another approach: immediately convening
\na special session of the People's Consultative Assembly, the only
\ninstitution with the power to remove the President. Again, this
\nproposal has been accompanied by demonstrations.<\/p>\n
And amid the demonstrations and counterdemonstrations by the
\nPresident's loyal supporters, we have heard various veiled
\nthreats of a military takeover if the situation in the country
\nfurther degenerates.<\/p>\n
The latest scheme presented to the nation is for the President
\nto "share power" with Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri. From
\nthe explanation, however, this clearly entails the President
\nhanding over executive power, which has been vested in him by the
\nConstitution, to his deputy.<\/p>\n
By now it must be clear the real objective of this whole
\npolitical exercise is to achieve Abdurrahman's ouster. It also is
\nclear that his removal has increasingly become the favored option
\nof an ever growing section of the population. While this may not
\nbe the desire of the majority, it certainly is the prevailing
\nwish of the country's political elite.<\/p>\n
The mess in which the country currently finds itself must be
\nattributed in part -- in large part, critics would say -- to
\nAbdurrahman's ineffectual leadership. To his critics -- including
\nmany who were responsible for putting him in the presidential
\nseat in the first place -- his shortcomings and leadership
\nfailures far outweigh whatever contributions he has made to the
\nnation. In short, he has become politically dispensable.<\/p>\n
While they may have a strong case in wanting the President to
\nstep down, they seem to be at a complete loss as to how to
\nconvince him it would be in the best interests of the nation for
\nhim to do so. Instead of bluntly informing the President of the
\ngrave situation facing the country, they resorted to methods that
\nwere unethical, if not unconstitutional, in their search for ways
\nto unseat him.<\/p>\n
In their obsession to bring him down, they found the inquiry
\ninto the Brunei and Bulog financial scandals their most potent
\nweapon, ignoring the fact that the US$5 million involved in the
\ntwo scandals is a paltry sum compared to the billions plundered
\nby the Soeharto regime.<\/p>\n
The President, who will not take this criticism lying down,
\nhas found legal or constitutional flaws in virtually every move
\nand proposal made by his critics. There are, for example,
\nquestion marks about the legality of the House special committee
\nwhich conducted the inquiry into the scandals, and there are also
\ninconsistencies between the House's memorandum of censure and the
\ncommittee's findings on which the memorandum was based.<\/p>\n
There are also valid questions about the constitutionality of
\nthe demand for an immediate special session of the Assembly, and
\neven about the latest suggestion that the President share power
\nwith the Vice President.<\/p>\n
One can argue endlessly whether the President still have the
\npopular and moral legitimacy to lead, but he still has the
\nConstitution behind him, which matters the most. One can almost
\nbe certain that whatever trick his political opponents next pull
\nout of their hat, the President will find constitutional or legal
\nflaws in their maneuver.<\/p>\n
This is because the 1945 Constitution confers so much power on
\nthe President. Ours, after all, is a presidential system of
\ngovernment. Even after undergoing a series of amendments, the
\noffice of the president remains constitutionally powerful. No
\nforce can bring the President down, unless accompanied by threat
\nof violence as was the case with Sukarno in 1966, or by people's
\npower as with Soeharto in 1998.<\/p>\n
The way it stands at the moment, whether Gus Dur steps down or
\nnot is something only he can determine. His opponents can only do
\nso much, and the rest of us can only pray the President will be
\nguided by wisdom and arrive at a decision that is right for all
\nof us.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/its-all-up-to-gus-dur-1447893297",
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