Amien suggests Mega's successor be non-Javanese

Amien suggests Mega's successor be non-Javanese

JAKARTA (JP): Should Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri
take the country's helm if President Abdurrahman Wahid resigns or
be impeached by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), her
successor should be elected from among non-Javanese leaders, MPR
speaker Amien Rais said on Wednesday.

"It would be better if we (the MPR) nominate non-Javanese
leaders, such as pak Akbar or pak Hamzah to be the next vice
president," Amien said as quoted by constitutional law expert
Yusril Ihza Mahendra.

Amien was referring to House of Representatives (DPR) Speaker
Akbar Tandjung and chairman of the United Development Party (PPP)
Hamzah Haz, who hail from North Sumatra and South Kalimantan,
respectively.

The former minister of justice and human rights met Amien at
the latter's office to discuss the constitutional mechanism for a
transfer of power in the country.

A Javanese-non-Javanese pairing of state leaders has been a
repeated theme in the country's presidential history.

First president Sukarno, who had Javanese blood, was assisted
by Mohammad Hatta from West Sumatra, while Adam Malik and B.J.
Habibie, two of the five vice presidents under second president
Soeharto, who is also Javanese, originated from North Sumatra and
South Sulawesi respectively.

Yusril, also chairman of the Crescent Star Party (PBB), said
Presidential Decree No. 121/2000 on the delegation of power by
the President to the Vice President would remain in force and
could not be annulled as it was issued in compliance with an MPR
decree.

The legal basis for this decree was Assembly Decree No.
8/2000, which was issued after the Assembly's annual session last
August and stipulated that the President should delegate
responsibility for the day-to-day running of government to the
Vice President, .

"When a president resigns or is removed from office, the vice
president succeeds to the office of president. The Assembly then
has to choose a new vice president, while all the existing
regulations remain in effect," Yusril said.

He stressed that Assembly Decree No. 2/2000 on the assembly's
internal regulations stated that the assembly should elect a new
vice president to fill the vacant office in such circumstances.

"So, we cannot just leave the office of vice president vacant
as was the case under former president B.J. Habibie's
leadership," he said.

Following the House's censure of Abdurrahman on Feb. 1 over
his alleged involvement in two financial scandals, the House is
now likely to issue a second memorandum of censure, which is one
step away from a special session of the Assembly.

Most House factions have expressed their support for Megawati
to lead the country if Abdurrahman resigns or is removed.

This is true even of the loose coalition of parties known the
Axis Force which prevented Megawati, whose Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) won the June 1999 elections,
from acceding to the presidency, preferring to help Abdurrahman
become president instead in October of the same year.

Separately, a PDI Perjuangan legislator, Jacob Tobing, said
that Yusril's interpretation of the decree was misconceived as a
presidential decree was a unilateral decision of the president
and, therefore, could be revoked by the president.

"We may express our support if all the factions agree that we
should strengthen the delegation of power from the president to
the vice president. But, this arrangement should be applied only
if the president is Abdurrahman Wahid and the vice president is
Megawati," he told The Jakarta Post.

On PDI Perjuangan's stance over the President's reply to the
House's first memorandum, Jacob said the party would likely agree
to the issuance of a second censure.

Meanwhile, the former chairman of the Association of
University of Indonesia Alumni (Iluni), Hariadi Darmawan, said on
Wednesday that the statement of the Interest Groups Faction on
Megawati's failings was meant to play Gus Dur off against
Megawati.

"The President regretted the statement issued by the Interest
Groups faction as he considered the meeting to be an academic
forum," Hariadi told reporters after meeting the President at
Merdeka Palace.

He said the President's clarification of the issue had
received a positive response from Megawati.

"Mas (older brother), please be careful. Both of us are being
used against each other," the President quoted Megawati as
saying, as related by Hariadi. (dja)