Bambang's fate is now in Soeharto's hands: Expert
Bambang's fate is now in Soeharto's hands: Expert
JAKARTA (JP): By passing on Golkar's demand to have Bambang
Warih Koesomo removed from the House of Representatives, the
House leaders have placed the legislator's fate in the hands of
President Soeharto.
"It is now up to President Soeharto," M. Budyatna, the dean of
the University of Indonesia's School of Social and Political
Sciences said yesterday.
"I'm sure President Soeharto will wisely consider all the
factors before making his decision," Budyatna said.
Speculation is now focused on the exact wording of the
"additional considerations" note that House Speaker Wahono
enclosed when he passed Golkar's letter on to the President.
Wahono has been under pressure for the last two weeks to meet
Golkar's request to have Bambang, an outspoken legislator
representing the ruling party, dismissed from the House.
On Wednesday, Wahono announced that the House leadership would
pass Golkar's letter to President Soeharto with some additional
notes, the contents of which he would not disclose.
But during the media briefing, Wahono made it clear that his
move had nothing to do with "endorsing or not endorsing" the
Golkar proposal. Rather it was a matter of following the proper
procedures, he said.
The House speaker, who once chaired Golkar's executive board
until he was edged out by Harmoko in 1993, refused to be rushed
into making a decision and stressed that he wanted to treat the
matter objectively.
Sources said Wahono and his deputies went over some of the
House's records and documents to try to verify the alleged
wrongdoings that Golkar has cited as grounds for Bambang's
dismissal.
Bambang has also challenged the Golkar leadership to prove
their accusations. At one stage, he even planned to sue Golkar
for defamation and for making allegations that marred his
reputation.
Political commentators have also been concerned with the way
Golkar's executive board disclosed Bambang's case to the press
before discussing it with the House leadership.
Budyatna and another observer, Dr. Afan Gaffar of Gadjah Mada
University in Yogyakarta, criticized the Golkar leaders for their
failure to observe due procedure in the handling of Bambang's
case.
"This (dismissal) represents a setback in our democratization
process," Afan said. "There hasn't been a dismissal for so long
and suddenly we have this case."
"I'm concerned. We should all be very concerned," Afan said.
(swe)