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