Minister Agum officially suspended<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Jakarta\/Bandung<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri officially suspended Minister of
\nCommunications Agum Gumelar on Monday following Sunday's
\nannouncement of the General Elections Commission (KPU) that he
\nwas among the eligible candidates for vice president.<\/p>\n
\"Pak Agum has been officially suspended as of 2 p.m. by
\npresidential decree,\" State Secretary Bambang Kesowo said after a
\nCabinet meeting.<\/p>\n
Agum had been nominated by the United Development Party (PPP)
\nas the running mate of presidential candidate Hamzah Haz, the
\ncurrent Vice President.<\/p>\n
Kesowo said that the decree, effective immediately, had been
\ngiven to Agum .<\/p>\n
According to Government Regulation No.9\/2004 all ministers
\njoining the presidential race will be suspended from the Cabinet.<\/p>\n
Megawati appointed Minister of Settlement and Regional
\nInfrastructure Soenarno as the ad interim minister of
\ncommunications (not State Minister for the Technology and
\nResearch Hatta Radjasa as reported).<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a few hours before the suspension, Agum attended a
\nmeeting with about 80 officials of the Ministry of Communications
\nat the Education and Training Center of the state-owned railway
\ncompany PT KAI in Bandung, West Java.<\/p>\n
Agum mostly discussed political affairs, especially his
\ncandidacy.<\/p>\n
\"I just ask for your understanding but I'm not asking for your
\nsupport,\" Agum, who arrived in his private BMW car and was not
\nwearing his gray safari suit, told the meeting.<\/p>\n
Unexpectedly he continued to provide a context for his
\ndecision to run with Hamzah. He said that before deciding to
\naccept the offer to be Hamzah's running mate he had rejected a
\nsimilar offer from Amien Rais of the National Mandate Party
\n(PAN).<\/p>\n
Agum said that he had rejected Amien's offer as two members of
\nthe Cabinet, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla, had
\nearlier decided to resign and would run for the election.<\/p>\n
He admitted that he had wanted to be the running mate of
\nMegawati, but pointed out that Megawati's team selected Hasyim
\nMuzadi, the chairman of the country's largest Muslim organization
\nNahdlatul Ulama (NU), as her vice presidential candidate.<\/p>\n
\"I told her that I did not want her to fall since this
\ncompetition was too tough and she should be accompanied. But
\nMegawati's party had actually been working in cooperation with
\nHasyim for months,\" Agum said.<\/p>\n
Agum described how he had tried to help Megawati to maintain
\nher seat in her party, then the Indonesian Democratic Party, in
\norder that she would not be toppled in her party congress in
\nMedan, North Sumatra in 1993. However, in the congress, Megawati
\nwas replaced by rival Suryadi.<\/p>\n
His efforts to safeguard the congress, Agum said, caused him
\nto be demoted as commander of the Army's Special Forces Command
\n(Kopassus) to chief of staff of the Bukit Barisan military
\ncommand in North Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Before receiving his letter of suspension he expressed
\ndisappointment that his request to resign from the Cabinet had
\nnot been responded to by Megawati.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/minister-agum-officially-suspended-1447893297",
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