DPR, government should cooperate

DPR, government should cooperate

In observing the current situation, there is no doubt that
President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid is facing his biggest
challenge yet. Since the censure by the House of Representatives,
many political maneuvers have been made to place pressure on Gus
Dur to resign.

The problem that we have to face is what will happen if the
President resigns? Based on the Constitution, Vice President
Megawati will automatically replace him. But is that the end of
the story? Will the rise of Megawati, who is currently perceived
as "less problematic" than Gus Dur, be able to solve all our
nation's problems? The likely answer is "no".

Given the current political situation in the House of
Representatives (DPR) which is fractured by conflicts of
interest, Megawati is highly likely to face the same problem as
Gus Dur, if she succeeds. So she will have to be very careful not
to disrupt the so called "permanent coalition", which in turn
will affect the effectiveness of her policies.

In this context, House members must realize that democracy is
not merely a system to make the DPR more powerful. It must
provide the will to cooperate and to compromise in order to
achieve a common consensus on how to solve Indonesia's multi-
dimensional crisis.

The initiative of some House members to investigate the
involvement of Gus Dur in the Bulog scandal, should be applauded
as an important step toward creating a healthy political system.
On the other hand, if the motive is merely to topple Gus Dur to
gain political advantage, then it is an egoistic attitude which
damages democracy itself.

The House must realize that the problems we are now facing are
difficult and complicated, and cannot be handled by the executive
alone. The House as a legislative body must bear the same
responsibility as the executive body in solving national issues.

VITTO RAFAEL TAHAR

Jakarta