Bambang's fate is in the House speaker's hands
Bambang's fate is in the House speaker's hands
JAKARTA (JP): The fate of Bambang Warih Koesoemo, the Golkar legislator recently dismissed for being "too outspoken", is now in the hands of House Speaker Wahono.
Golkar leaders submitted their decision to kick Bambang out of the House of Representatives (DPR) to Wahono for endorsement before referring it to President Soeharto for final approval.
Wahono, himself a former Golkar chief, would not give reporters his opinion of Bambang's proposed dismissal, a move which many feel has smeared the party's image.
He also said the DPR is waiting to discuss the Golkar executive board's "proposal to discharge Bambang" and has yet to decide whether to back the case and bring it before President Soeharto.
"We (DPR leaders) have not discussed it and Bambang has yet to be recalled," he said.
Golkar announced Tuesday its plan to withdraw Bambang, known for a number of whistle-blowing incidents and especially his disclosure of a major bad-debt scandal last year. Golkar leaders said he was guilty of misconduct, and of "lacking manners" when dealing with cabinet ministers.
Bambang was accused of offending the ministers of manpower, industry, and finance and for falsely accusing the Ministry of Public Works during his hearings with the officials.
Bambang has categorically denied all accusations leveled against him by the Golkar leaders, calling them "one big slander" and a "political maneuver".
He retaliated by accusing Golkar leaders of hastily compiling collection of press clippings to support their allegations of misconduct instead of utilizing actual recordings and minutes from his hearings.
Yesterday, Wahono met with four Golkar leaders, including faction chairman Moestahid Astari and deputy chairman Abdul Gafur.
Consultation
The delegation submitted two letters, the first of which is the executive board's decision to dismiss Bambang, addressed to DPR leaders. The second letter is addressed to President Soeharto.
According to Wahono, however, the letter addressed to DPR leaders should be categorized as a "proposal" and, as it is, needs to be studied further. The meeting that he held with Moestahid and the others was also "only a consultation", he said.
"They asked for my opinion on the legality of their decision to withdraw a member. So, Bambang is not yet recalled..he's still functioning (as legislator)," Wahono said.
A similar case occurred in 1982 involving the proposed dismissal of Soedardji, then chairman of the Moslem-oriented United Development Party (PPP), by the party's executive board.
At that time, the PPP board's "proposal" to fire Soedardji was declared void when the then House Speaker Amir Machmud decided not to submit it to the President.
Wahono refused to say when he will meet with President Soeharto.
Abdul Gafur agreed that the ball is now in Wahono's hands.
"Whether the dismissal will be executed "depends entirely on House Speaker Wahono," Gafur said. "Wahono has received our letter (decree for dismissal) and he promised to deal with it in accordance with official procedures."
Also yesterday, Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono told reporters that Golkar's decision to fire Bambang was "valid".
"Golkar is a system and an institution, and I see the board's decision to discharge Bambang as valid," he said.
"The mechanism (for discharging a member) is appropriate because it's the organizations, not individuals, which compete during general elections."
Moerdiono, however, refused to say if there was any truth in the Golkar leaders' claim of having already consulted with President Soeharto, as chairman of Golkar's Board of Patrons, before deciding to dismiss Bambang.
Denial
Adding to the already wide-spread controversy, Minister of Industry Tunky Ariwibowo, whom the Golkar leaders said had been offended by Bambang, said Thursday he never had any such experience with Bambang.
Gafur refused to comment on Tunky's remarks. "The executive board has decided that Bambang has failed to utilize discipline...we have our own organization rules," Gafur said.
As for Bambang's denial of the accusations, "Let him say that, but there are many people who have prepared reports," Gafur said.
Meanwhile, chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction in DPR, Fatimah Achmad, rejected suggestions that her party might be tempted to dismiss outspoken members as Golkar did.
"Up to the present, we don't have any plan to dismiss any member," she said, adding that the PDI executive board would consider taking such a decision only if a member really violates the organization's statutes.
She said the party likes to have its members to speak out like Bambang. "In fact, we encourage our members to be critical," she said. (swe)