Sjahrir says Gus Dur must resign<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid should immediately
\nstep down because he has failed to implement the various reform
\nprograms mandated by the people, noted economist Sjahrir said on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
Sjahrir said that Gus Dur, as Abdurrahman is called, had,
\nafter one year in office, failed to foster democracy, curb
\ncorruption, create legal certainty and take legal action against
\npeople responsible for the abduction and killing of students
\nafter one year in office.<\/p>\n
\"From now on, we must all crystallize our stance against Gus
\nDur. The best thing he can give now is his willingness to
\nresign,\" he said in a press conference held to deliver the
\npolitical statement of his Paddy and Cotton Foundation (Yayasan
\nPadi dan Kapas) entitled: \"Reform dies young under the leadership
\nof Abdurrahman Wahid.\"<\/p>\n
The press conference was attended by political activists,
\nsenior journalists, business executives and parents of students
\nwho had been either killed or kidnapped during the struggle to
\ntopple former authoritarian president Soeharto.<\/p>\n
Sjahrir was sent to jail by Soeharto without a trial in the
\n1970s when he led students to demonstrate against the Japanese
\nrole in the country's economy. Afterwards he went to the U.S. to
\ntake his Ph.D. in political economics at Harvard University.<\/p>\n
Sjahrir said that Gus Dur and his administration had failed to
\ncurb corruption, nepotism, and collusion which was the main
\nsource of economic problems currently afflicting the country.<\/p>\n
He said that the current cabinet was even more corrupt than
\nprevious ones.<\/p>\n
\"The presidential office seems to have been transformed into a
\nbourse for KKN,\" he said, referring to the local term for
\ncorruption, nepotism and collusive activities.<\/p>\n
Sjahrir deplored the recent move by the President to delay
\nlegal proceedings against three of the country's largest bad
\ndebtors, and accepting the invitation of Soeharto's youngest son
\nHutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala Putra to meet privately at a hotel to
\ndiscuss his case as shockingly inappropriate.<\/p>\n
Gus Dur recently announced that he had asked the Attorney
\nGeneral to delay legal proceedings against three top businessmen,
\nMarimutu Sinivasan of the Texmaco Group, Prajogo Pangestu of the
\nBarito Group, and Sjamsul Nursalim of the Gadjah Tunggal Group,
\non grounds that the businessmen who have caused massive losses to
\nthe state had assets that could help boost exports and contribute
\nto economic recovery.<\/p>\n
Experts have attacked the policy saying that the President had
\nintervened in legal proceedings and the move was merely designed
\nto protect the debtors.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court recently sentenced Tommy and a business
\ncolleague, Ricardo Gelael, to an 18-month jail term for
\ncorruption. But Tommy has not been put in prison.<\/p>\n
Sjahrir said that Gus Dur was now more interested in achieving
\nhis political goals rather than implementing the aspirations of
\nthe people.<\/p>\n
\"It is possible that the President would lower himself to
\nobtain funds for the (next) general election,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sjahrir, however, failed to clearly explain how he would push
\nGus Dur to step down before his term ends. The President can only
\nbe required to resign by the People's Consultative Assembly
\n(MPR), the country's highest legislative body, through a special
\nsession. The special session can only be proposed by the House of
\nRepresentatives.<\/p>\n
\"Let's all join hands (to fulfill the aspirations of the
\npeople),\" Sjahrir said.<\/p>\n
He said that his foundation, together with other groups, was
\nplanning to launch a Cabinet watch which would become a strong
\ncritic of government policy and help curb corruption.<\/p>\n
He dismissed suggestions the country might be worse off if Gus
\nDur was replaced due to the lack of qualified leaders.<\/p>\n
\"We've got to take that risk,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman, who is nearly blind and has suffered a stroke,
\nwas elected President in October 1999 after a group of small
\npolitical parties led by the current MPR Speaker Amien Rais
\njoined with the former ruling Golkar Party to support his
\ncandidacy.<\/p>\n
Abdurrahman is seen as a moderate Muslim leader with a massive
\nfollowing and a champion of democracy, but is also regarded as a
\nweak administrator.<\/p>\n
Separately, Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said that the
\ndelay of legal actions against the three tycoons was merely the
\nconsequence of the government's policy to reschedule the
\nbusinessmen's debt to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency
\n(IBRA).<\/p>\n
\"By restructuring the businessmen's debts, automatically there
\nwill be a delay in any legal actions against them,\" Marzuki told
\njournalists in his office.<\/p>\n
He dismissed speculation that Gus Dur was trying to protect
\ncertain businessmen in a bid to obtain funding for the next
\ngeneral election in 2004.<\/p>\n
\"There was no such deal. Please don't overreact,\" Marzuki
\nsaid. (rei\/bby)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sjahrir-says-gus-dur-must-resign-1447893297",
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