President-House showdown imminent<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A showdown between the House of Representatives
\nand President Abdurrahman Wahid looks increasingly unavoidable in
\nthe near future since the latter has asserted that he would not
\nfulfill any summons by the legislature.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Surabaya, East Java on Saturday, Abdurrahman said
\nhe would send an official letter to the House to inform them of
\nhis refusal to answer the summons of the special committee
\ninvestigating corruption cases allegedly involving the President.<\/p>\n
The latest tentative schedule had set Abdurrahman to be
\nquestioned on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"The President can only be summoned by a People Consultative
\nAssembly (MPR) plenary session, not by the House. It is
\noutrageous to send such a summons,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Without elaborating, Abdurrahman maintained that the summons
\nby the House committee probing the Buloggate and Bruneigate
\nscandals was a violation of the 1945 Constitution.<\/p>\n
\"I will answer by letter on Monday, saying that I cannot come
\nbecause the Constitution forbids me to do so,\" Abdurrahman said
\nas quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman further charged that the summons was merely a move
\ndesigned to bolster the House's power over the presidency.<\/p>\n
Since last year, Abdurrahman has been defiant of the House
\nprobe into the scandals and has even described the special
\ncommittee as illegal.<\/p>\n
The President maintains that the special commission, which was
\nestablished by the House, should have been registered at the
\nState Secretariat as required by a 1954 law which also stipulates
\nthat such committees should be listed in the state gazette.<\/p>\n
The House special committee is probing the fraudulent
\nwithdrawal of Rp 35 billion from an employees' foundation of the
\nState Logistics Agency (Bulog). The funds were allegedly
\nwithdrawn by the President's masseur who at the time claimed he
\nwas doing so on behalf of the President.<\/p>\n
The second scandal being looked into by the committee
\nconcerns a $2 million donation by the Sultan of Brunei that the
\nPresident claimed was a personal gift.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Abdurrahman reasserted his threat to not hold
\nfurther consultations with the House while it continued to
\n\"harass\" him.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman went further in his recriminations towards the
\nlegislature saying that during his presidency the President and
\nhis cabinets had been trampled on by the House.<\/p>\n
He remarked that ministers have had to continuously shuttle
\nback and forth to the House to answer summonses from the
\nlegislators.<\/p>\n
\"It's OK for now as it does not really matter, but the dignity
\nof the State's institutions should be respected,\" he said, while
\nnoting that thus far he had always encouraged his ministers to
\nfulfill the wishes of the House.(dja)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/president-house-showdown-imminent-1447893297",
"image": ""
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