Agum opposes imposing state of emergency
JAKARTA (JP): Newly installed Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs Agum Gumelar has kept his predecessor's key policy intact with his opposition to the issuance of a presidential decree on a state of emergency.
Agum, touching upon the sensitive issue for the first time since taking over from Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Saturday, said such a decree was not "a proper manner to cope with contemporary political problems".
"I think the present circumstances are not favorable for the enforcement of the decree. The decree would not be a choice of mine," he said, after a ceremony that marked the official transfer of duty from him to the new Minister of Communications Budhi Muliawan Suyitno.
Despite his repeated denial, President Abdurrahman Wahid was said to consider a state of emergency as a last-ditch attempt to evade his impeachment following two motions of censure issued by the House of Representatives over his alleged role in two financial scandals.
Susilo, who led an eight-member team who drew up alternative solutions to the protracted political stalemate, had openly thrown his weight against the planned decree until President Abdurrahman Wahid dismissed him last Friday.
Both the Indonesian Military and National Police joined Susilo in resisting the plan, placing more pressure on Abdurrahman to drop his controversial bid.
Agum reiterated on Wednesday that he would rely on building good communications between conflicting members of the political elite rather than push for a decree on a state of emergency, which would enable the President to dissolve the House and the People's Consultative Assembly.
"I believe the frozen relations at present could melt if each party is not made to feel that it is doing wrong. Besides, most Indonesians from across the archipelago are of the same expectation that the political crisis should be tackled for the sake of everyone's safety," Agum said, who rated his new job as mission impossible.
Abdurrahman said Agum was expected to bridge and mend relations between the embattled President and his Vice President, Megawati Soekarnoputri, whose Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle is on the vanguard of concerted efforts to force him to step down.
The Assembly has set Aug. 1 as the date for the special session to hear Abdurrahman's accountability speech.
Compromise
Separately, political observer Arbi Sanit suggested that the disputing political elite seek a new compromise that would not cost Abdurrahman his presidency.
"Without replacing the President and Vice President, a new coalition of parties must be formed to provide the two top executives with stronger political backing," Arbi told a seminar.
Once the coalition is formalized, the government and the House could arrange plans on how to defuse the protracted economic and political crisis first and then reform the bureaucracy and judicial and representatives institutions.
Arbi, of the University of Indonesia, criticized both the presidential decree on a state of emergency and the MPR special session to impeach the President, saying the two moves ignored political fairness and only asserted political freedom.
"Under democracy, there should be a correlation between procedures and the substance," he said. (rms/amd)