Abdurrahman rejects power-sharing proposal

Abdurrahman rejects power-sharing proposal

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid, who is fighting for
his political survival, rejected a proposal to hand over much of
his power to his deputy Megawati Soekarnoputri, saying such a
move was not provided for in the Constitution, an aide said on
Saturday.

"The President said that the separation of powers between the
head of state and head of government must be based on the
Constitution. If we really want to do that, the Constitution must
be changed first and the amended arrangement could then be
implemented after 2004," presidential spokesman Adhi Massardi
told reporters.

"But, the move should not only be motivated by a desire to
topple the President ... the Constitution can't be tampered with
just like that simply because Gus Dur is the President," he
added, referring to the President by his nickname.

Adhi further said that Abdurrahman's election in October 1999
was based on the Constitution in which "a separation of powers
between the head of state and head of government is virtually
unknown."

"So, the President will stick to it," Adhi said.

The statement came after House of Representatives Speaker
Akbar Tandjung suggested on Thursday that handing more power to
Megawati over the day-to-day running of government could be the
middle way for ending the political bickering over the
President's fate.

Akbar said that he would convey the idea of the power-sharing
arrangement to Abdurrahman if it secured support from the major
factions in the legislature.

Abdurrahman has come under mounting pressure since rejecting
on Wednesday a House censure over two graft scandals and he faces
possible impeachment within months.

Last August, Abdurrahman promised to delegate administrative
power to Megawati, and issued a presidential decree to formalize
the move.

But aides to Megawati, who is also leader of the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle, say he continues to overrule her
decisions, ignoring the arrangement.

Meanwhile, political observer Afan Gaffar from Gadjah Mada
University said in Yogyakarta on Saturday that power-sharing
between Abdurrahman and Vice President Megawati would be the only
way to break the current political stalemate.

"Power sharing would not cause Gus Dur and Nahdlatul Ulama
(NU) any loss of face. Gus Dur will remain a President despite
the power-sharing," Affan said after speaking at a seminar on
regional autonomy at the Yogyakarta Sheraton Hotel on Saturday.

According to Affan, the House should urge the President to
hand over day-to-day policy-making to Megawati.

"It would be unethical for Megawati to be proactive in
appealing for power-sharing," he argued.

Such power-sharing must be enshrined in presidential and
People's Consultative Assembly's decrees. "Thereby, the handover
of the President's legal rights to run daily policy-making to
Vice President Megawati would be clearly regulated."

He also suggested that Megawati be given the right to form her
own cabinet line-up.

"Gus Dur has no other choice but to accept such an
arrangement, or the political turmoil will continue. In such a
situation, Gus Dur's statesmanship will be tested ... he should
accept this no matter how bitter a pill it may be to swallow."

Horse-trade

Contrary to many people's understanding, noted Muslim scholar
Nurcholish Madjid said that political compromise was not
synonymous with power-sharing.

He strongly criticized the members of the political elite who
promoted power-sharing as constituting a political compromise,
saying that "it is like horse trading and is not a fundamental
compromise."

According to Nurcholish, political compromise must be aimed at
establishing a joint political platform between the executive and
legislature so as to bring the reform agenda the fruition.

"After they have a common perception of the reform agenda,
they can then fulfill their own functions. The House must step up
its control over the government, which is responsible for
implementing the reform agenda," Nurcholish said before speaking
at a seminar on the nation's morality in Jakarta on Saturday.

"At the last People's Consultative Assembly annual session, we
tried to promote a political compromise when we introduced the
notion of a head of state (the President), and a head of
government (the Vice President).

"But I don't think that the scheme is working," Nurcholish
said regretfully. (byg/44/02)