Akbar rebuffs demands to quit House post

Akbar rebuffs demands to quit House post

Ainur R. Sophiaan and Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya/Jakarta

Convicted House Speaker Akbar Tandjung seems to have grown more
confident after blocking a move to unseat him in the legislature,
declaring that the calls from his opponents and the public for
him to resign were "irrelevant".

Akbar said the demands for his exit from the House's top post
lacked good grounds as the legal process in which he was involved
did not prevent him from performing his duties.

"There is no reason for me to step aside temporarily as I
there is no requirment for me to leave the House as a result of
this legal process," Akbar said while attending the funeral of a
senior Golkar leader in East Java on Wednesday.

Akbar was convicted of corruption and sentenced to three years
imprisonment for his role as state secretary/minister in the
misuse of Rp 40 billion belonging to the State Logistics Agency
(Bulog).

During his trial, Akbar claimed to have spent the money on a
food-for-the-poor program. Later, after Akbar found himself in
hot water, all of the money was suddenly repaid to the state.

Akbar has vehemently denied all wrongdoing and has appealed to
the high court. He says he will go all the way to the Supreme
Court, if necessary.

Akbar, who chairs the country's second largest party, Golkar,
argued that similar situations had arose in other countries.

He pointed to former U.S. President Bill Clinton and the
former speaker of the U.S. Congress, both of whom were allegedly
involved in financial impropriety but failed to step down from
office.

"There have been many cases in other countries where state
officials have been involved in criminal prosecutions and where
they were not forced to step aside," he claimed.

The calls for Akbar to quit the House speakership have been
mounting following the verdict against him earlier this month.
Representatives of 72 legislators on Monday submitted a petition
of no-confidence in Akbar to deputy speaker Soetardjo
Soerjogoeritno.

The legislators hoped their petition would be brought up
during Tuesday's plenary meeting, but Akbar, who presided over
the meeting, refused to discuss the petition, saying that his
decision was in line with the House's internal rules.

Golkar legislator Baharuddin Aritonang emphasized that there
was no obligation to announce all motions submitted to House
leaders.

Meanwhile, People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Amien
Rais predicted that Akbar would be able to maintain his
chairmanship in the House because legislators were not serious to
enforce the maneuver of no confidence against the convict.

He said the move of the legislators to force Akbar down was
halfhearted. "That is our House. If there are only about 68 out
of 500 legislators give support to the maneuver, it means only 12
percent," Amien added, implying the mandatory vote of 50 percent
plus one to make a meaningful move against Akbar.

According to Amien, the position of Akbar would be safe until
a final and binding verdict was handed down.

Akbar added that he would not ask the Supreme Court to speed
up his legal process or to slow down it. He said he hoped the
court would follow the existing rules. "There must be no pressure
on my case," Akbar added.