Abdurrahman deserves a chance: Expert

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid should be given a chance to prove his Cabinet lineup can work to overcome future challenges, an expert said on Sunday.

A sociologist of state Hasanuddin University, M. Darwis, said people should avoid making hasty judgments about the new President's decisions.

Darwis was commenting on nationwide protests against Abdurrahman's decision to scrap the information and social service ministries from his 35-strong Cabinet.

"Being in opposition without giving a chance is certainly not the democratic way," he said.

"It's too premature to judge whether he (Abdurrahman) can perform his duties. It's naive, and uneducated as well, to blindly condemn him," Darwis said.

He welcomed people's critical response to the abolishment of the two ministries, but warned that such a stand should not defy national interests on which Abdurrahman might base his controversial decision.

Abdurrahman said the ministry of information and ministry of social services were abolished to give way for more public participation. He said the government should not control information and the affairs of society.

Protests continued on Saturday despite the government's promise to take care of the 53,000 employees from the two defunct ministries.

Hundreds of information ministry workers who claimed to represent the ministry's 23 regency offices in South Sulawesi rallied here in a motorcade.

The state employees departed from the ministry's provincial office on Jl. Sultan Hasanuddin for the legislature building, riding on motorbikes and in cars.

"It was unwise to abolish the ministry because the state needs a mediator to dispatch information to people," Abdul Latif Lote, the office head, said.

On the same day, some 1,500 employees from the social services ministry assembled at the provincial legislative council building in the Central Java capital of Semarang.

Group coordinator Achmad Fauzi said there were 50,000 disabled people in Central Java, including 30,000 blind people and 4,000 beggars who heavily relied on help from the social services ministry.

"If the ministry is abandoned, who will take care of them?" Achmad protested.

In Makassar (formerly Ujungpandang), Darwis also suggested that students maintain their role as opposition force to control the present government.

"The present Cabinet is tolerant because it includes figures known as critics in the past," Darwis said.

He said President Abdurrahman and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who were both opposition leaders in the past, should be given six months to prove their ability.

Darwis said he believed the two leaders would be prepared to face criticism.

But Darwis criticized Abdurrahman who appeared to lose his temper when he met with former minister of information Muhammad Yunus, who represented hundreds of his protesting staff members. (27/har/edt)