Orderly succession expected<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto, currently in his sixth five-
\nyear term, reaffirmed over the weekend that Indonesia already has
\na well established mechanism for choosing its president based on
\nthe 1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
\"The people should not worry too much and unnecessarily make
\nmuch noise about the need for searching for a new president,\"
\nSoeharto was quoted as saying on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The 73-year-old leader made the remarks, the second time he
\nhas mentioned the succession debate in less than two weeks, when
\nhe met with Soeprapto, the chairman of the Central Advisory Board
\nfor the Propagation of Pancasila, and Alwi Dahlan, the board's
\ndeputy chairman, at the Cendana residence. Pancasila is the state
\nideology.<\/p>\n
The succession mechanism is implemented through the general
\nelections held every five years, which is fully in line with the
\nConstitution, the President was quoted by Dahlan as saying.<\/p>\n
Dahlan said Soeharto was concerned that a group of young
\npeople seemed not to understand the 1945 Constitution fully.<\/p>\n
Dahlan quoted Soeharto as saying, \"They hold the misperception
\nthat Indonesia always maintains the status quo by electing the
\nsame president every five years.\"<\/p>\n
He said the President deplored the erroneous notion among
\nthose young people who think that because the leadership post has
\nbeen consistently filled by one man there has not been any change
\nin Indonesia.<\/p>\n
In fact, there has always been a change brought about by the
\ngeneral elections every five years, as reflected in the new Broad
\nGuidelines of State Policies, Soeharto was further quoted by
\nDahlan as explaining.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's general elections, held every five years since the
\nearly 1970s, select members of the House of Representatives and
\nthe People's Consultative Assembly.<\/p>\n
The People's Consultative Assembly, which includes the House
\nmembers, meets every five years to formulate the Broad Guidelines
\nof State Policies and to elect a president. The country's five
\nyear development plans, currently in the sixth of the series, are
\ndrawn up based on the Broad Guidelines of State Policies.<\/p>\n
Quoting Soeharto, Dahlan further said that within the
\nIndonesian political system it is the Broad Guidelines of State
\nPolicies that are changed. Only then, will a president be elected
\nto execute the state policy guidelines.<\/p>\n
Mechanism<\/p>\n
Soeharto said the mechanism calls for the formulation of the
\nstate policy guidelines first, and then the election of the
\nperson best qualified to execute those guidelines.<\/p>\n
\"I am only executing what the People's Consultative Assembly
\nhas mandated for me,\" Soeharto further explained.<\/p>\n
Given the misunderstanding and lack of knowledge about the
\nConstitution and Pancasila, President Soeharto saw it as even
\nmore imperative than ever before to step up the understanding and
\nimplementation of Pancasila.<\/p>\n
Asked why Soeharto considered it necessary to reaffirm what he
\nhad stated as recently as Oct.28, Dahlan said the President
\nalways keeps himself appraised of the views circulating in
\nsociety and he seemed to detect some misunderstanding and
\nmisperceptions still prevalent about the succession of the
\nnational leadership.<\/p>\n
Soeprapto added that in view of the misperception, the
\npropagation of Pancasila would emphasize the promotion of
\nknowledge and understanding about the proper implementation of
\nthe Constitution. (vin)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/orderly-succession-expected-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}