Next president must have 'vision of national unity'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) will
\npose an additional test to presidential candidates to gauge
\nwhether they have the vision to maintain the nation's unity.<\/p>\n
\"This additional requirement is quite urgent since we have
\njust lost East Timor and are facing the threat of disintegration.
\nWe do not want to lose Aceh, Irian Jaya and other provinces,\" the
\nchairman of the Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee II, Sabam Sirait,
\nsaid here on Friday after the committee's deliberations on the
\nrequirements for the next president and vice president.<\/p>\n
He said that ahead of the presidential election, all
\ncandidates should present their vision on how to maintain
\nnational unity and prevent disintegration.<\/p>\n
\"The most important thing is that the candidates should unveil
\nconcrete steps to maintain national unity and to seek peaceful
\nsolutions to the problems in Aceh, Ambon and Irian Jaya,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Sabam, also a deputy chairman of the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), said his committee also
\nadopted the common criteria for a president as stated in the 1945
\nConstitution.<\/p>\n
\"All factions agreed that the next president must win the
\nsupport of the majority of the people, must not be involved in
\nbanned organizations, must not be serving a jail sentence and is
\nmentally and physically healthy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sabam was cautious when asked whether Abdurrahman Wahid, who
\nwas nominated for the presidency by the Assembly's Reform
\nfaction, met all of the criteria.<\/p>\n
\"The committee did not discuss individual presidential
\ncandidates, but the common criteria for the next president,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The charismatic Abdurrahman has impaired vision, but said his
\nsight had improved after recent medical treatment in the United
\nStates.<\/p>\n
Sabam said the committee also recommended that the Assembly
\nestablish a team to select presidential candidates.<\/p>\n
Separately, committee deputy chairwoman Aisyah Aminy said the
\nbody also put forward two methods for electing the next
\npresident: Secret ballot and the so-called deliberation-for-
\nconsensus.<\/p>\n
\"It depends on which method the MPR General Session elects to
\nuse, because both are applicable,\" she said, adding that what
\nmattered most was that the presidential election was fair.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Ad Hoc Committee III tasked with deliberating
\nconstitutional amendments agreed not to make changes to the
\nConstitution's preface or to the state ideology Pancasila.<\/p>\n
\"All factions in the subcommittee agreed to revise only those
\nchapters which could lead to misinterpretation,\" committee
\nchairman Harun Kamil said.<\/p>\n
He said the committee was still divided over the existence of
\nthe Supreme Advisory Council and the presence of Indonesian
\nMilitary (TNI) and regional representatives in the Assembly.<\/p>\n
Several factions proposed the advisory council be disbanded
\nbecause it functioned poorly, he said.<\/p>\n
He also said some committee members proposed TNI and regional
\nrepresentatives be dropped from the Assembly because they were
\nnot elected in the general election.<\/p>\n
Separately, the TNI\/National Police faction in the Assembly
\nsuggested that in the future, the TNI commander should be
\napproved by the House of Representatives in order to maintain the
\nmilitary's neutrality.<\/p>\n
Maj. Gen. Tayo Tarmadi, a member of Ad Hoc Committee I on
\nState Policy Guidelines, said that in the past, the military
\nserved the government instead of the people partly because its
\nchiefs were appointed by the president.<\/p>\n
\"TNI is not part of the executive branch. According to the
\nConstitution, TNI belongs to the state and is in charge of the
\ndefense and security of the state,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, journalist Sinansari Ecip
\ncalled on the Assembly to insert a clause in the Constitution
\nguaranteeing freedom of the press.<\/p>\n
\"The Constitution should guarantee freedom of the press in
\norder to help the future development of democracy,\" he told The
\nJakarta Post. (rms\/05\/27)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/next-president-must-have-vision-of-national-unity-1447893297",
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