Abuse of prerogative
Abuse of prerogative
The President has the prerogative right to appoint and dismiss
members of his cabinet. In the political sense such a right can
be easily abused. Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly
Amien Rais reminded us the other day that the latest dismissal of
two ministers in charge of economic affairs, by President
Abdurrahman Wahid, could well be seen as abuse of this
prerogative right. The replacement of one of them by somebody
from the President's own party, Amien Rais added, is abhorrent in
the reform era.
House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung saw in the
latest cabinet reshuffle and the filling of vacancies by people
outside the original parties that won the general election as a
violation of the political ethics and coalition agreement at the
outset of the cabinet formation.
Furthermore, President Abdurrahman Wahid did not find it
necessary to consult the leaders of the political parties
concerned before taking the action.
The media reported that the reason for the firing of the
ministers was their failure to cooperate with other ministers and
that this was a weak argument for their dismissal. It should have
been the responsibility of the captain of the cabinet to patch up
dissenting views and proceed with the agreed program of the
entire administration.
The general public was displeased by the fact that the track
record and experiences of the new ministers do not promise a
better performance. The slide of the rupiah to Rp 8,000 against
the U.S. dollar immediately after the installation ceremony was
seen by many as a bad omen.
President Abdurrahman Wahid is now showing more of his
authoritarian character instead of the spirit of an exemplary
democratic leader. When he summoned one of the ministers
(Laksamana Sukardi) and told him not to ask for an explanation of
the dismissal, he was acting rather like a despot (absolute
ruler). Ministers are admittedly the President's assistants
(Indonesian: pembantu), but they are not "pembantu" or servants
in the real sense of the word. This lack of political leniency
and democratic tolerance may cause him real problems sooner or
later.
GANDHI SUKARDI
Jakarta