Outspoken House member Bintang formally sacked<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): As news of his sacking from the House of
\nRepresentatives (DPR) emerged yesterday, legislator Sri Bintang
\nPamungkas promised he would continue his fight as an \"opposition\"
\nto the government.<\/p>\n
The outspoken legislator of the Moslem-based United
\nDevelopment Party (PPP) said he had not been formally informed of
\nPresident Soeharto's approval of his party's proposal that he be
\nremoved from the House.<\/p>\n
Bintang said that he was not concerned about that, however.<\/p>\n
\"I looked for a letter notifying me of my dismissal -- at the
\nDPR and at home -- but could not find one,\" he told The Jakarta
\nPost last night. \"I don't care. I said goodbye to the DPR long
\nago.\"<\/p>\n
He vowed to continue his position as a critic of the
\ngovernment, saying that he saw his future activities as a crusade
\nagainst wrongdoings.<\/p>\n
\"This is jihad,\" he said, using the Islamic term for \"holy
\nwar\".<\/p>\n
The long-expected formal dismissal of Bintang from the DPR was
\neffected over the weekend.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto signed a decree approving Bintang's
\ndismissal on Saturday, PPP chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum told
\nreporters in Jayapura, the capital of Irian Jaya, on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Ismail Hasan announced that party leaders had chosen
\nHadimulyo, a member of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR),
\nto take up the DPR seat left vacant by Bintang's dismissal.<\/p>\n
While saying that he accepted the dismissal, Bintang
\nquestioned yesterday the President's power to fire legislators,
\nsaying that House members were the elected representatives of the
\npeople, the source of all authority.<\/p>\n
\"I see the President's decision to sign the party's proposal
\nfor my dismissal as simply an administrative procedure,\" he said.
\n\"By signing that proposal, the President (clarified) matters
\nconcerning my name at the DPR or my salary.\"<\/p>\n
The PPP leadership filed a request with the House leadership
\nin February that Bintang be removed, alleging that he had
\noffended a number of cabinet ministers during DPR hearings, that
\nhe had undermined the state ideology, Pancasila, and that he had
\ncriticized the Armed Forces regarding both its political and
\ndefense roles.<\/p>\n
House Speaker Wahono and his deputies endorsed the PPP's
\nhandling of Bintang's case and passed on the request to President
\nSoeharto. The final decision came last weekend.<\/p>\n
Bintang, who is a member of the House commission overseeing
\nstate budget affairs, said farewell at a hearing with Minister of
\nFinance Mar'ie Muhammad in March, although his dismissal had not
\nyet been approved by the President at the time.<\/p>\n
\"I have to bid you goodbye because the state of politics in
\nthis country is like this ... and I hope they don't reverse their
\nintention to fire me,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Armed Forces recently accused Bintang of involvement in a
\nseries of anti-Soeharto demonstrations in Germany last month. He
\nhas already been questioned by police over the incident, although
\nso far he has not been charged. Bintang has denied the
\nallegations.<\/p>\n
The legislator visited the Attorney General's Office yesterday
\nto ask that a recently-imposed ban on his traveling overseas be
\nlifted.<\/p>\n
\"I need to go the United States on May 13, because my daughter
\nwill be graduating,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Bintang said he would remain active in politics, and would
\npursue his plan to establish a new political party.<\/p>\n
\"I would stand in opposition, offering alternatives to the
\ngovernment,\" he said, adding that if the government ignored his
\n\"alternatives\", he would seek public support for his policies.<\/p>\n
\"Becoming an opposition and seeking people's support is not
\nwrong, a taboo or a sin,\" he said. \"There are people who think
\nthat whenever someone disagrees with the government, it means
\nthat he is against the government.\"<\/p>\n
Ismail Hasan and other party leaders have repeatedly assured
\nthe public that the party would not be any the worse off for
\nfiring Bintang. \"It's our decision to dismiss him, so why should
\nwe miss him?\" Ismail Hasan said.<\/p>\n
Zain Badjeber told the Post that Bintang's dismissal was an
\n\"ordinary thing\" and that the party leaders did not have to hold
\nany further meetings concerning Bintang's case.<\/p>\n
\"Everything's settled already,\" he said. (swe)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/outspoken-house-member-bintang-formally-sacked-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }