Yusril expains presidential task-sharing<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Amid a swirl of controversy over President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid's plan to share some of his workload with Vice
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri, a minister of legal affairs
\navouched on Thursday the arrangement did not breach the 1945
\nConstitution.<\/p>\n
Speaking at an unscheduled media conference in his office,
\nMinister of Law and Legislation Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the
\nPresident's proposal was in line with the presidential system of
\ngovernment outlined in the Constitution.<\/p>\n
\"It simply means a division of labor between the two, with the
\nVice President being responsible for the day-to-day technical
\nwork of running the government and having to report to the
\nPresident regularly,\" Yusril said.<\/p>\n
He said the media briefing was requested by the President in
\norder to prevent any confusion among the people regarding his
\novernight statement before the People's Consultative Assembly
\n(MPR).<\/p>\n
Yusril further explained the government dismissed any
\npossibility of appointing a first minister after Abdurrahman
\nopted to share his workload with the Vice President.<\/p>\n
Retreating from Abdurrahman's term \"delegation of tasks\",
\nYusril said the President would remain the sole holder of the
\nAssembly's mandate to run the government.<\/p>\n
\"The President still holds the responsibility to deliver an
\naccountability speech before the Assembly at the end of his five-
\nyear term,\" Yusril said as an example.<\/p>\n
Responding to suggestions by some Assembly members that an MPR
\ndecree was needed to provide the legal basis for the task-sharing
\narrangement, Yusril did not rule out the possibility and
\nsuggested the decree refer to Article 4 of the Constitution
\nconcerning the vice president's role as an assistant to the
\npresident.<\/p>\n
\"The Vice President's tasks in assisting the President can be
\nfurther elaborated in the decree, but the President's status as
\nboth the head of state and head of administration will remain
\nintact.<\/p>\n
\"Once the president's authority is reduced, we are applying a
\nparliamentary system of government and that is against the
\nConstitution,\" Yusril said.<\/p>\n
However, the minister said he personally would prefer it if
\nthe Assembly refrained from regulating the task-sharing
\narrangement in a decree. \"It's better if the arrangement is
\napplied as a custom in statecraft practices.\"<\/p>\n
\"But the government has no right to advise or to prevent the
\n700-member Assembly from drafting a decree, because it is their
\nprivilege,\" Yusril said.<\/p>\n
Controversy<\/p>\n
Inside the Assembly, there were mixed opinions about whether a
\ndecree was necessary to ensure the President, who has been under
\nfire for his inconsistent statements, abided by the task-sharing
\narrangement.<\/p>\n
Assembly Speaker Amien Rais said it was important to provide a
\nlegal basis for the arrangement to avoid the possibility of the
\nPresident backing down from the plan.<\/p>\n
\"The Assembly decree, which would provide a guideline for the
\nsharing of tasks, would prevent the President from unilaterally
\nrevoking the arrangement. The decree would only be valid until
\nthe end of his presidential term in 2004,\" Amien said.<\/p>\n
He denied the Assembly was trying to interfere in the
\ngovernment's affairs by proposing the decree.<\/p>\n
\"This is a special condition and I really take my hat off to
\nAbdurrahman's decision. The Assembly just needs to provide a
\nlegal basis for the decision.\"<\/p>\n
Golkar Party faction chairman Syamsul Mu'arif said there was a
\npossibility the Assembly could announce the President
\n\"temporarily unavailable\" so the issuance of the decree would not
\nviolate the Constitution.<\/p>\n
\"However, it will very much depend on the response of our
\nfellow legislators from PDI Perjuangan,\" Syamsul said, referring
\nto the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, which Megawati
\nchairs.<\/p>\n
However, House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung and
\nan Assembly deputy speaker from the National Awakening faction,
\nMatori Abdul Djalil, said such a decree would be in contempt of
\nthe Constitution.<\/p>\n
Akbar said to provide a legal basis for the decision, the
\nAssembly only needed to issue recommendations.<\/p>\n
\"The Assembly could issue several recommendations to the
\nPresident on how to optimize the role of the Vice President in
\nhelping him carry out daily state activities,\" Akbar said.<\/p>\n
He also said a decree would imply a separation of the head of
\nstate and the head of government, which went against the
\ncountry's long-standing presidential system of government.<\/p>\n
Echoing Akbar's opinion, Matori said the Assembly could only
\nissue a recommendation that the President follow up his decision
\nto share his tasks with the Vice President.<\/p>\n
\"It should not be in the form of an Assembly decree, but in
\nthe form of a recommendation which simply stipulates official
\nsupport for the decision,\" Matori said.<\/p>\n
Separately, the chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's
\nlargest Muslim organization, Hasyim Muzadi, hailed Abdurrahman's
\ndecision, saying such a task-sharing arrangement would provide a
\nclearer job description for the executives.<\/p>\n
\"But it should not be stipulated in a decree. If it is, it
\nmeans the Assembly has overstepped its authority,\" he said
\nhere.(bby\/dja\/nvn)<\/p>",
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