Golkar to follow the 'voice of the majority'

Golkar to follow the 'voice of the majority'

JAKARTA (JP): While maintaining its commitment to proceeding
with constitutional mechanisms to appraise the performance of
President Abdurrahman Wahid, Golkar Party will comply with the
voice of the majority, a party official said on Monday.

The chairman of the Golkar faction at the House of
Representatives, Syamsul Muarif, said the party still had its
sights set on the issuance of a second memorandum of censure
against Abdurrahman, but it would support the convening of an
immediate special session of the People's Consultative Assembly
if the move was supported by the majority of House factions.

"If most factions are willing to convene a special session to
end the stalemate and formalize a political compromise, Golkar
will support that. We will follow the voice of majority," Syamsul
said.

"But the special session should hammer out the details of a
power-sharing scheme between the President and Vice President
Megawati Soekarnoputri," he added.

He underlined that a special session could only be held if the
President invited the session and all political leaders showed
their willingness to sit down together.

"The special session I am referring to would be different from
the one that would be called as a follow-up to the ongoing
memorandum process," he said.

Syamsul's statements came after Abdurrahman rejected earlier
in the day the calls for some type of power-sharing agreement
between himself and Megawati.

"I will not compromise on fundamental matters such as the 1945
Constitution," the President said at the Bina Graha presidential
office on Monday.

Abdurrahman said earlier such power-sharing arrangements were
not included in the Constitution, and the proposal could be
implemented only if the Constitution was amended.

Under the power-sharing proposal, which was raised by House
Speaker Akbar Tandjung last week, Abdurrahman would continue to
serve as the head of state, but would hand over the day-to-day
running of the government to Megawati.

Akbar, who is also Golkar Party chairman, said a power-sharing
formula between Abdurrahman and Megawati could be the solution to
the political bickering over the President's fate.

Political analyst Ichlasul Amal dismissed the idea that
splitting power between Abdurrahman and Megawati was the answer
to the current political stalemate.

"Handing over the day-to-day running of the government to
Megawati is not the solution because the real problem is
Abdurrahman's style of leadership and his health," he said in
Yogyakarta on Monday.

Amal said the proposed power-sharing arrangement would take a
long time to implement and would prove to be ineffective.

Faisal Riza Rachmat, the chairman of the Forum for the Study
of Democracy, was of the same opinion as Ichlasul. He said that
instead of proposing a compromise, the House and the Assembly
should declare Abdurrahman incapable of running the government.

"Legislators are aware of Gus Dur's physical and mental
condition, which leave him unfit to perform the tasks of the
presidency, and they could address this matter in a special
session. The President should step down voluntarily if the
Assembly decides he is no longer able to run the administration,"
he told The Jakarta Post by phone, referring to the President by
his nickname.

The head of Abdurrahman's medical team denied last week
reports that the President was medically unfit for office.

The power-sharing proposal was presented after Abdurrahman
dismissed last week a memorandum of censure issued against him by
the House in February for his alleged role in two financial
scandals.

Legislators from the main political parties have already said
they will move to issue a second memorandum of censure against
Abdurrahman. A second memorandum would open the way for a special
session of the Assembly, which could lead to the impeachment of
the President.

Abdurrahman would have four weeks to respond to a second
memorandum of censure. (44/har/sur/dja/rms/byg)