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)