'Akbar no longer fit and proper to lead the House'
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Members of the House of Representatives perceive their speaker Akbar Tandjung to be a liability and suggest that he quit his post because he is no longer "fit and proper" to lead the legislative body due to his alleged involvement in the misuse of Rp 40 billion funds belonging to the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) legislator Firman Jaya Daeli is the latest to urge House leaders and factions to immediately discuss the replacement of Akbar.
"Akbar is no longer fit and proper to lead the House, therefore House leaders should talk about his replacement," Firman told the media at the House here on Monday.
Firman, who is deputy secretary of the influential PDI Perjuangan faction, admitted that his faction had discussed Akbar's dismissal in an internal meeting.
Strong calls also emerged from the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB) for Akbar to relinquish his post.
The increasing calls appear to cancel out previous statements from deputy House speakers Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno of PDI Perjuangan and A.M. Fatwa of the National Mandate Party (PAN), who said that Akbar's detention did not affect activities in the House and therefore the demand for his replacement was irrelevant.
Fatwa insisted that the legal process in Akbar's graft case should not be mixed up with political maneuverings, which is shown in the rising call for Akbar's removal.
Chairman of PKB faction Ali Masykur Musa suggested that Akbar quit his legislative post for the sake of the House's dignity.
"Following his detention, the issue of the House leadership must be taken into account by Akbar. With his resignation, Akbar will set the House free from problems," Ali said.
If Akbar holds his position, Ali added, he would allow the House to come under continuous public criticism.
He emphasized that by ignoring calls for his resignation, Akbar would just confirm public suspicions that not all members of the House held high standards of morality and ethics.
Hamdan Zoelva of PBB suggested that Akbar relinquish the post to enable the House to carry out its legislative duties uninterrupted by Akbar's legal case.
"A plenary meeting should formally assign a legislator to handle the day-to-day tasks of the House speaker," Hamdan added.
Political will for the creation of a clean and strong government had emerged during the annual plenary session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), with the issuance of Decree No. VIII/2001 on the guidelines for the eradication of corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN).
The decree says that any state official suspected of corruption has to receive administrative punishment.
Although there is no elaboration of the forms of penalty, Ali said that dismissal could be interpreted as one of the sanctions.
"I think a House plenary meeting can soon set up an ad hoc honorary council to discuss this matter," Ali said.
Firman agreed, suggesting that a consultative meeting among House leaders and the 10 factions would be followed up with a plenary meeting to set up the ad hoc honorary council to decide Akbar's fate.
Golkar, meanwhile, held a plenary executive meeting at its headquarters in Slipi, West Jakarta to discus, among other things, the party's responses to Akbar's detention and demands for its cadres in the Cabinet to quit and Akbar's temporary replacement. The party will announce results of the meeting on Tuesday.