Abdurrahman dismisses Yusril from Cabinet

JAKARTA (JP): With continuing calls for his resignation, President Abdurrahman Wahid fired on Wednesday Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra for disloyalty.

The President said he had to "replace" Yusril due to "pressure from within the Cabinet".

"Almost all the Cabinet members wanted (Yusril) to resign because they could no longer work with him," Abdurrahman said during a hastily called media conference at Merdeka Palace.

"Yusril came to see me this afternoon and I told him that he should be able to control himself, but he maintained that what he said was a legal opinion... (this statement) I think is an expression that he is no longer willing to sit and talk, so I said... go ahead (if you want to resign)," the President said.

The dismissal of Yusril, whose Crescent Star Party (PBB) is at the forefront of efforts to impeach Abdurrahman following his implication in two financial scandals, came less than two weeks after the exit of state minister of administrative reforms Ryaas Rasyid.

In line with his party's stance on the President's alleged involvement in the scandals, Yusril several time suggested Abdurrahman resign.

The President refused to term Yusril's departure a dismissal, instead calling it a "replacement".

When asked whether he had already appointed Yusril's successor, the President said: "Not yet, it is going to be discussed tomorrow (Thursday)."

When pressed whether lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis would take over for Yusril, Abdurrahman said: "I do not want to speculate on that."

Yusril told journalists at Merdeka Palace earlier on Wednesday that he was fired by the President because many of his statements had contradicted Abdurrahman.

He also admitted that the President's decision was taken due to "pressure from some Cabinet members".

"They said I am not loyal (to the President), but of course I am not personally loyal to the President ... my loyalty is to the country and the presidency as an institution," Yusril said.

Yusril, who is a constitutional law expert, said he would either return to teaching or focus on his duties as chairman of the Crescent Star Party.

"I can do many things ... I am an academic and also the chairman of a political party, and I think there are many ways for me to serve the country," Yusril, who said he was already "packing up" his belongings in his office before he was summoned to the palace on Wednesday afternoon, told journalists.

Major setback

While for some minor factions in the House of Representatives a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to impeach the President has reached the point of no return, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and Golkar Party reaffirmed their commitment to give Abdurrahman three months to correct his flaws.

PDI Perjuangan and Golkar, which between them control more than half of the 500 seats in the House, implied that the legislative body had no legal basis to accelerate the calling of a special session of the Assembly.

"Our faction will not support an expedited special session because it goes against the Constitution," Heri Achmadi, the secretary of the PDI Perjuangan faction in the House, said on Wednesday.

He also confirmed that his faction's 153 members have been barred from signing a petition calling for the President's resignation.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, who is also the chairman of Golkar, said his faction would not go beyond the Constitution in response to the results of the House's investigation into the two financial scandals.

"The Golkar faction has decided to follow up the issuance of the first memorandum of censure and see if the President improves the way he runs the government. And our legislators have been ordered to comply with the party's ruling on how to exercise their legislative rights.

"Our faction will be patient and wait for corrections to be made by the President within the next three months. If no improvement is made, we will call for the issuance of a second memorandum of censure," he said.

Following a meeting with regional party representatives later in the day, Akbar said all Golkar branches across the country supported the step taken by the party's central board in approving the memorandum of censure against the President.

He added that the regional branches also threw their support behind efforts to proceed in a constitutional manner.

Akbar also revealed that several regional branch representatives from North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, North Sumatra and Irian Jaya expressed their desire to hold mass rallies in their respective areas to counter anti-Golkar rallies.

Akbar said he would allow such rallies provided they were orderly and held within the confines of the law.

The Indonesian Military (TNI) is being equally cautious in response to demands to fast-track a special session of the Assembly to impeach the President.

TNI's chief of territorial affairs, Lt. Gen. Agus Widjojo, asserted on Wednesday that the first memorandum of censure issued by the House served notice to the President, but did not automatically lead to a special session of the Assembly.

"We admit that the first memorandum might create debate over whether the MPR special session is needed.

"In response to this situation, TNI remains open to any possibility ... the memorandum does not have to be followed by a special session," Agus said during a media conference at TNI Headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta.

Agus also said TNI would remain loyal to the President as the country's constitutionally elected leader. (02/rms/byg)