Controversial visit by Vice President

Controversial visit by Vice President

Vice President Hamzah Haz visited National Police Headquarters in South Jakarta on Tuesday to see the commander of the Laskar Jihad Islamic group, Ja'far Umar Thalib, who is being detained there.

Those close to Hamzah said that he made the visit in his capacity as chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), not as Vice President. But can the two positions be separated?

However, whatever excuses the Vice President made, the visit showed the fragility of the Cabinet. The plan to detain Ja'far had been discussed and decided on at a Cabinet meeting, hadn't it?

This means that, whatever the risks, all Cabinet members, including the Vice President, must safeguard the Cabinet's decision. A good government needs support from the people. Such a condition can be created only with a solid Cabinet. But can the Cabinet be considered solid in light of Hamzah's recent visit to Ja'far?

We are not against a humanitarian visit, but Hamzah is the Vice President, who has certain powers, and Ja'far is currently facing the legal process, though we don't rule out the possibility that Ja'far will win his freedom in the courts.

If Hamzah argued that his visit to Ja'far was a humanitarian gesture, why did he not make the same gesture to House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung or the former head of the State Logistics Agency when they were detained in Cipinang Prison not long ago. Humanity does not discriminate, does it?

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta