'Military and civilians have equal chance at presidency'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Recent calls to give civilians and military
\npersonnel an equal opportunity to be nominated as presidential
\ncandidates were supported by a minister and a former vice
\npresident yesterday.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security
\nSoesilo Soedarman and former vice president Sudharmono agreed
\nyesterday that there were no laws barring civilians from becoming
\npresidential candidates.<\/p>\n
"Civilians and Armed Forces members have an equal right to be
\nnominated in the presidential election," Soesilo said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters after briefing the provincial chiefs of
\nthe Coordinating Agency for the Pancasila Course, Soesilo said
\ncivil and military candidates could be nominated as long as they
\nwere "acceptable".<\/p>\n
Soesilo said that many public figures could meet the
\n"acceptable and capable" criterion: "There are about 200 million
\nIndonesians, is (the presidential nomination) so difficult that
\nwe cannot choose from among them?"<\/p>\n
The discourse on whether civilians could become president
\nbegan recently with a statement from State Minister of Research
\nand Technology B.J. Habibie. He said the next president did not
\nhave to come from the military. Indonesia's two presidents, the
\nlate Sukarno and the incumbent President Soeharto, were both
\nmilitary leaders.<\/p>\n
Habibie told the Forum Keadilan bi-weekly that people should
\nnot see civilians and the military in such a polarized way.<\/p>\n
"The next president does not necessarily have come from the
\nArmed Forces (ABRI)," he said, pointing out that the military was
\na minority group in the country.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Armed Forces has 500,000 personnel, while the
\ncountry's population is approaching 200 million.<\/p>\n
Separately, Sudharmono said the 1945 Constitution did not
\ndiscriminate presidential candidates: "The 1945 Constitution only
\nsays that a candidate has to be an Indonesian."<\/p>\n
He said the power to decide whether to choose a civilian or
\nsomeone from the Armed Forces for the position rested with the
\nPeople's Consultative Assembly (MPR).<\/p>\n
The 1,000 member Assembly will convene in 1998 to elect a
\npresident, to adopt the 1998-2003 Guidelines for State Policies
\nand to review laws proposed by political groupings. The Assembly
\nis dominated by politicians affiliated to the ruling Golkar.<\/p>\n
Sudharmono said he new of eligible civilian candidates for the
\npresidency, but refused name them.<\/p>\n
Political scholar Harun Al Rasyid said earlier that it was
\ntime for civilians to take the country's helm.<\/p>\n
"We are no longer in a state of emergency which requires a
\nmilitary leader to run the country. It is time for a civilian,"
\nhe was quoted by Merdeka daily as saying.<\/p>\n
Quoting Article 10 of the 1945 Constitution, Harun said the
\npresidential post should not only be held by members of the four
\nmilitary services.<\/p>\n
"It will be unfair if the president is elected from only one
\nof the military forces," he said. "A civilian is more appropriate
\nfor the position."<\/p>\n
Article 10 of the 1945 Constitution stipulates that the
\npresident controls the four military forces -- the Army, the
\nNavy, the Air Force and the Police.<\/p>\n
The issue of the presidential succession was first raised by
\nChairman of the Muhammadiyah Reformist Moslem Organization Amien
\nRais in December 1993, only months after the Assembly reelected
\nPresident Soeharto to his sixth consecutive term.<\/p>\n
Discussion of the issue, a long-time political taboo,
\nimmediately snowballed, sparking controversy. Some people
\nsupported Amien's ideas, while others, including Golkar chairman
\nHarmoko, condemned his ideas as "premature" and "unethical."<\/p>\n
President Soeharto, 75, himself responded to the clamor by
\nstating last year that he had no intention of becoming "president
\nfor life".<\/p>\n
The President said in May, before a group of visiting
\nAustralian senior editors, that he had never sought reelection
\nand that it was the prerogative of the People's Consultative
\nAssembly (MPR) to select a national leader.<\/p>\n
Soeharto has been at the country's helm since 1967. He was
\nreelected in March 1993 for his sixth consecutive term by a vote
\nof acclamation by the Assembly. He was the sole candidate in the
\nelection, as he was in 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983 and 1988. (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/military-and-civilians-have-equal-chance-at-presidency-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}