Change of president

From Merdeka

H.M. Soeharto finally stepped down from his presidential post on May 21, following weeks of student demonstrations demanding reform in all fields -- economy, politics, law and social and cultural affairs, as well as Soeharto's resignation as president of the republic.

Then, based on article 8 of the 1945 Constitution, Soeharto transferred his post to Prof. Dr. B.J. Habibie. This transfer of the presidential post is, to my mind, not correct because article 8 says: "If the president passes away, quits or is unable to perform his/her responsibility during the term of office, the president shall be replaced by the vice president until the term of office comes to an end."

This suggests that the vice president continues the governance together with the same cabinet instead of taking over the president's job. However, the cabinet can be reshuffled if any of its members is viewed incapable or unsuitable, but no new cabinet can be formed.

A presidential election should be based on article 6 of the Constitution which says: 1. The President must be an indigenous Indonesian national; 2. The President and the Vice President are elected by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) through majority of votes.

Based on this stipulation of the Constitution, I am of the opinion that the President must be elected through a general session of the MPR.

To avoid misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the articles concerned, I hope law and political scholars can give explanations. My generation is not familiar with this case. If the wrong implementation of the Constitution is justified, it will be a precedent for future generations.

H. DADI HERYADI

Depok, West Java