President Habibie faces 'political trial' at MPR<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): History repeats in itself.<\/p>\n
More than three decades ago the New Order regime under
\nSoeharto gained the legitimacy to resume power after bringing
\nfounding president Sukarno before the Provisional People's
\nConsultative Assembly in 1967 to account for the abortive coup
\nattempt blamed on the now defunct Indonesian Communist Party.<\/p>\n
Sukarno, probably aware that whatever defense he presented
\nwould meet with opposition, held his head up high when he
\ndelivered his accountability speech, which was titled Nawaksara
\n(Sanskrit word for nine letters). The Assembly unanimously
\nrejected his speech, stripped him of his \"Great Leader of
\nRevolution\" title and ousted him.<\/p>\n
Tuesday will be judgment day for President B.J. Habibie, who
\nhas been called the New Order's last bastion for his now ailing
\nmentor Soeharto, when the 700-member Assembly decides whether to
\naccept his accountability report on his 17-month tenure.<\/p>\n
Like Sukarno, Habibie, who claims to have cleared the path
\ntoward democracy in the country, is facing a vote of no-
\nconfidence from opposition parties in the Assembly.<\/p>\n
But unlike Sukarno who waged a solitary defense before the
\nAssembly, Habibie has a horde of advocates grouped in the Golkar
\nParty, although a defeat in Tuesday's vote may force the party to
\nabandon the wagon.<\/p>\n
Golkar has named Habibie its sole presidential candidate, but
\nits board of executives led by Akbar Tandjung is entrusted to
\ndecide on whether to change tactics at the last minute. This
\ncould include dropping Habibie's candidacy.<\/p>\n
There will be no legal consequences if the Assembly gives a
\nvote of no-confidence to Habibie's report. But it will adversely
\naffect his legitimacy and credibility, according to Akbar.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Transparency Society and a group of
\nYogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University alumni are critical of the
\nabsence of consequences for a president whose accountability
\nspeech is turned down. They have urged the Assembly to issue a
\ndecree which bans a president who is given a vote of no-
\nconfidence from running for reelection.<\/p>\n
The custom of a president giving an accountability report has
\ncaused concern among constitutional law experts, due to its
\nnature which resembles a political trial.<\/p>\n
\"A small mistake will be blown up if a president faces an
\nAssembly that is dominated by his or her rivals. On the other
\nhand, a major blunder will be reduced to nothing if a president
\ndelivers the speech before his or her supporters,\" Suwoto of
\nSurabaya's Airlangga University said.<\/p>\n
In the past, Soeharto made full use of his accountability
\nspeech, which was always passed unopposed, to justify his bid for
\nreelection.<\/p>\n
Suwoto said that instead of waging inadvertent attacks on a
\npresident, the Assembly should refer to the Constitution and
\nState Policy Guidelines when it appraises a president's
\nperformance as reflected in his or her accountability report.<\/p>\n
Another expert, Sutandyo Wignyosubroto, shared Suwoto's view,
\nsaying that if the long-standing convention should be maintained,
\nobjective assessments should apply.<\/p>\n
\"In my opinion, a president is obliged to present an
\naccountability report. The Assembly's decision of whether to
\naccept the report should be based on the president's fulfillment
\nof Assembly decrees and State Policy Guidelines mandated to him
\nor her,\" Soetandyo said.<\/p>\n
Suwoto said the government's policy on East Timor could be
\nviewed as one of the mistakes Habibie made during his brief
\nadministration, on the grounds that he did not comply with the
\n1978 Assembly decree which legalizes the integration of the
\nformer Portuguese colony into the country as its 27th province.
\n(byg\/amd)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/president-habibie-faces-political-trial-at-mpr-1447893297",
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