Cracks appearing in Megawati-Hamzah partnership

Cracks appearing in Megawati-Hamzah partnership

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Discord between President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice
President Hamzah Haz is becoming increasingly obvious now, with
the two frequently making conflicting statements.

Officials at the State Secretariat said over the weekend they
were annoyed with the statements by Hamzah, whom they described
as talking too much.

Hamzah's free-wheeling statements often contradicted
Megawati's stance, they said.

The latest example has concerned the question of an
Afghanistan jihad.

Initially, the Vice President said that the government would
not bar Indonesians wishing to travel to Afghanistan to
participate in a jihad, but after a Cabinet meeting last week the
government issued a statement prohibiting Indonesians from
fighting in a war in any foreign country.

Before that, they had already differed on a more fundamental
issue, the amendment of the 1945 Constitution.

Hamzah wanted to enshrine the position of syaria (Islamic
law), as set forth in the Jakarta Charter, in the Constitution,
but Megawati, through her party, objected to the idea.

If such disagreements are not quickly addressed, observers
warned, they could be used by the administration's opponents to
attack it.

"The two leaders should restrain themselves from making
statements just to satisfy their own constituents. They have to
show true statesmanship and address the entire nation," political
observer J. Kristiadi said on Saturday.

He said both leaders had to synchronize their statements, and
therefore, they would have to adjust themselves to each other
considering that they came from two ideologically diverse
political parties.

Megawati, with her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
(PDI Perjuangan), is widely-known as a nationalist, while Hamzah
is the chairman of the largest Muslim-based party in the country,
the United Development Party (PPP).

"That is why, the two should build a more informal
relationship. They could do it through having breakfasts
together, for instance," Kristiadi said, referring to the weekly
breakfast meetings that used to be held by the president and vice
president during the administration of former president
Abdurrahman Wahid.

Meanwhile, legislators Alvin Lie from the National Awakening
Party and Ferry Mursidan Baldan from the Golkar party, both of
which helped Megawati and Hamzah to power, said that they could
understand whey the two leaders differed in some areas,
considering their different political backgrounds.

Nevertheless, the two legislators expressed their confidence
that such differences would not pose a danger for the
administration.

"Their different backgrounds cannot be used as parameters to
analyze their relationship. Moreover, both of them had pledged
from the beginning to work together," Ferry said Sunday.

However, National Awakening Party legislators Effendy Choirie
and Chotibul Umam Wiranu, whose party's patron Abdurrahman Wahid
was forced out of the power in July, said that Megawati and
Hamzah would never have a genuine, sincere relationship.

"There are contradictory fundamental values that cannot be
negotiated between a nationalist and a religion-based politician.
They cannot establish a sincere relationship," Effendy said.

Chotibul added that such discord would be bad for the country,
and it would only create disharmony between the supporters of
Mega and Hamzah at the lower level.

"We are concerned about this, but we don't want to go fishing
in troubled waters."