Government leaders told to quit top party posts

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Calls are now mounting for government leaders to quit their positions in respective political parties in order to concentrate on their state functions and avoid conflicts of interest.

Azyumardi Azra, rector of the Syarif Hidayatullah State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN), said efforts to address national problems, including the prolonged economic crisis and security issues, are being greatly undermined by the decision of national leaders to retain their posts in their respective parties.

"Signs of conflicts of interest can clearly be seen now. When they carry out state tasks such as visiting provinces, they also meet with members of their political parties. How can they explain it? There is a problem of accountability," Azyumardi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Azyumardi was referring to both President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Vice President Hamzah Haz, who still hold positions as party leaders.

Megawati is chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), while Hamzah is chairman of the Muslim-based United Development Party (PPP).

Azyumardi also said that differences in opinion between the President and Vice President on various issues, including their stance on the U.S. attacks in Afghanistan, might also be affected by the interests of their respective political parties.

"If they are really concerned about the problems faced by the country they should be ready to leave their positions in their political parties so that they can focus on their duties as public officials," Azyumardi added.

"In difficult situations, Indonesia needs leaders who are able to focus their attention solely on national interests, like economic recovery and resolving security problems," he said.

Separately, Ikrar Nusabakti of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said it would be very difficult to create solidity among national leaders if they still maintained their positions within their respective political parties.

"They should realize that when they were elected either as a minister or Vice President or President, they had to remove their party "hat". They have to widen their scope of service, be smart and be aware of everything they say," Ikrar said on the sidelines of a book discussion at the LIPI office.

Ikrar said recent strong statements issued by Hamzah Haz on the U.S. attacks on Afghanistan had obviously been motivated by the interests of his party, PPP.

"Hamzah was attempting to gain support from Muslims in Indonesia by condemning the attacks," Ikrar said.

Ikrar said Hamzah had exploited the Afghan crisis to start his campaign for the 2004 general election by trying to attract sympathy from Muslims in the country.

He said Hamzah had often issued statements supporting the stance of certain hardline groups.

Last month, Hamzah insisted on inserting the Jakarta Charter into the country's amended Constitution.

Following terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, Hamzah issued a statement that the attacks should cleanse the U.S. of its sins against the rest of the world.

Just after the U.S. attacked Afghanistan, the Vice President openly supported moves by certain Muslim groups to send volunteers for a holy war in Afghanistan.

His stance clearly contradicted Megawati's position on the two issues. Megawati has long objected to plans to include the Jakarta Charter into the Constitution and banned Indonesians from going to Afghanistan to wage a holy war against the U.S.

According to Ikrar, Hamzah's disguised campaign would not be successful as most Indonesian Muslims did not favor the taking of extreme positions.