KPU members mull resignation over unclear status<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The General Elections Commission (KPU) is facing a brain drain
\nas the institution has yet to settle a dispute over the status of
\nits members, suggesting gloomy prospects for the upcoming
\nelections.<\/p>\n
Several members of the commission expressed their intention to
\nquit on Friday, refusing to resign or take long leave as civil
\nservants as demanded by the newly passed Elections Law.<\/p>\n
The commission has around one year left to prepare for the
\ndirect elections of House of Representatives legislators and the
\npresident, which are slated to take place in June and August
\nrespectively, according to the KPU timetable.<\/p>\n
According to the legislation, all the 11 commission members
\nwill serve until 2006 and must work on a permanent basis. With
\nthe new law automatically coming into effect one month after its
\npassage, by March 18 at the latest, the members have to state
\ntheir commitment to the institution by April 18.<\/p>\n
All but two members of the commission are civil servants.<\/p>\n
KPU chairman Nazaruddin Syamsudin said the discussion on the
\ncommission's membership was over and suggested that those who
\nrefused to resign as civil servants should take extended leave as
\npermitted by the law.<\/p>\n
\"During their time off they will not receive their monthly
\nsalaries, only their allowances as KPU members. They won't be
\nallowed to take up jobs other than their state duties,\" Nazarudin
\nsaid on Friday.<\/p>\n
\"It doesn't matter if they opt to quit the KPU. We employ
\nhundreds of staff here to assist us in completing the election
\nprocess.\"<\/p>\n
None of the KPU members had formally put in for resignation as
\nof Friday, according to Nazaruddin, a professor in politics at
\nthe University of Indonesia (UI).<\/p>\n
KPU deputy chairman Ramlan Surbakti and member Mudji Sutrisno
\nhave disclosed their intention to quit the commission as they are
\nunwilling to give up their jobs as lecturers.<\/p>\n
Ramlan is a civil servant who works as a lecturer in Airlangga
\nUniversity in Surabaya, while Mudji, who is also a Catholic
\npriest, teaches in the Driyarkara Institute of Philosophy in
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Another KPU member, Imam B. Prasodjo, also said he would leave
\nthe commission. He demanded on Friday a clarification of Article
\n18 of the Elections Law, which does not specifically require KPU
\nmembers to resign as civil servants.<\/p>\n
\"The legislators who deliberated the bill remain split over
\nthe article,\" said Imam, who also teaches at UI's School of
\nSocial and Political Sciences.<\/p>\n
He was referring to the chairman of House Commission II for
\nlaw and domestic affairs, Teras Narang, who insisted that the KPU
\nmembers had to resign as civil servants, and Ferry Mursyidan
\nBaldan who voiced a contrary opinion.<\/p>\n
\"Whom should we believe?,\" Imam said. \"Pak Nazarudin said we
\ncould take leave as lecturers while working for the KPU, but for
\nhow long? Should it last until the election takes places in 2004
\nor until our terms end in 2006?\"<\/p>\n
In a related development, House Commission II members Agun
\nGunandjar Sudarsa and Patrialis Akbar called for a consultation
\nmeeting between the KPU, the government, and lawmakers to clarify
\nthe controversy surrounding electoral matters.<\/p>\n
\"The government, the House, and the KPU must sit down together
\nto avoid misunderstandings,\" Patrialis of Reform faction told The
\nJakarta Post on the sidelines of a meeting here on Friday.<\/p>\n
Patrialis said all 11 members of the KPU had visited foreign
\ncountries to study the organization of elections. Therefore, they
\nshould not resign on the spur of the moment.<\/p>\n
Agun of Golkar faction concurred, saying that a consultation
\nmeeting would help the three institutions resolve various
\nproblems ranging from the time frame for elections to the
\nemployment status of KPU members.<\/p>\n
Both Agun and Patrialis agreed that the elections commission
\nmust be given enough time to prepare for the 2004 general
\nelections.<\/p>\n
\"Principally, the KPU must be given enough time to make
\npreparations for the elections,\" Agun said.<\/p>",
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