Expert urges court ruling on ministers in campaign
Expert urges court ruling on ministers in campaign
JAKARTA (JP): A constitutional law expert has urged the
Supreme Court to immediately issue a ruling to end the polemic on
whether ministers should be allowed to campaign in the general
election.
The court's ruling is the only way to overcome competing
political interests, Sri Sumantri said on Sunday.
"It is better that all sides concerned should await a ruling
from the Supreme Court on whether it will support the General
Elections Commission's (KUP) decision to ban ministers to
campaign," Sumantri, a professor at the School of Law in the
Pajajaran University, told The Jakarta Post.
The commission, in deliberating the electoral code of conduct
last week, barred all government officials, including ministers,
from campaigning for their respective parties during the campaign
season. Opposition to the recommended ban, which was reached
through a vote among commission members, has come from both
ministers and the ruling Golkar Party.
Last week President B.J. Habibie said he requested a ruling on
the issue from the Supreme Court, adding he would obey whatever
decision it made.
As of Sunday, there was no report of any progress from the
Supreme Court. Sources said a meeting on the subject took place
between Chief Justice Sarwata, KPU chairman Rudini and Habibie at
the latter's residence on Thursday night.
On Friday Rudini announced KPU might rule that ministers who
were chairman of parties would be exempted from the ban. Apart
from Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung who is chairman of
Golkar, State Minister of Investment Hamzah Haz chairs the United
Development Party.
Although Akbar said on Friday that Habibie would obey whatever
the Supreme Court decided, he remarked on Saturday that he would
campaign for Golkar if the President's permission was
forthcoming.
"I will take unpaid leave to campaign and I will not use state
facilities during the campaign," Akbar said in a gathering with
the party's supporters in Lampung.
Officials and politicians have said there should be no problem
with ministers' campaigning because it is common in other
countries. However, the public outcry was stirred up by the
strongly suspected practice of officials appropriating state
facilities for electioneering in past campaigns.
Sumantri echoed the criticism of several political scholars
who said the KPU should have consulted with Habibie, in his
capacity as holder of the People's Consultative Assembly's
mandate, before issuing its controversial ruling.
Rudini justified the ruling as part of the task entrusted to
the body for establishing the electoral code of conduct. The
ruling stated political parties were barred from recruiting state
officials, including ministers, for campaigning.
Sumantri also urged the President and ministers to give
priority to the nation's interests. However, he said a Supreme
Court ruling would effectively resolve prevailing conflicts
created by political interests.
"In the reform era, sticking to legal rulings should prevail
instead of political interests, " he said.
However, a leading poll monitoring worker argued the President
should issue the ruling to avoid unnecessary delays in the
electioneering process.
Mulyana W. Kusumah, deputy of the Election Supervisory
Committee, said the wait for the Supreme Court ruling would be
too long. Many other preparations have yet to be completed ahead
of the June polls.
Politician Abdurrahman Wahid said on Saturday the Supreme
Court should heed demands made in the reform era, but also agreed
that a presidential ruling would be a more expeditious solution.
Dimyati Hartono, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Democratic
Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), insisted that his party
rejected the possibility of letting ministers campaign. He said
KPU's ruling was "wise".
"The nation's experience of the 32-year New Order
administration has proven that government officials could not
separate their personal and national interests," Dimyati, a law
professor, said in Semarang on Saturday.
Meanwhile in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, Antara reported that
member of the Justice and Unity Party (PKP) board Sri Edi Swasono
said the Supreme Court should seize the chance to "wash the mud
off their faces and hands by siding with the people's wish (to
ban ministers from campaigning)".
In Jakarta, a member of the National Commission on Human
Rights Soetandyo Wignyosoebroto said particular guidelines needed
to be drawn up if ministers were to be allowed to campaign.
They were needed to draw a distinction between ministers'
interests as state officials and party cadres.
"The minister/state secretary (Akbar Tandjung) himself is
facing such a difficulty. While wearing his uniform as minister,
he talks about Golkar but while wearing his party's yellow
uniform, he talks about his official duties," he said.
(edt/har/rms)