Govt factions dismiss fear of authoritarianism

JAKARTA (JP): Three factions in favor of a motion to grant the next president extra power strove yesterday to appease some people's concern that it would lead to authoritarianism.

Dominant Golkar, which initiated the campaign, and its traditional allies, the Armed Forces and regional representatives factions, reiterated yesterday their support for a People's Consultative Assembly decree that will allow the president to take emergency measures when national unity and development programs are endangered.

While the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) faction finally gave its approval yesterday, fellow minority faction the United Development Party (PPP) remains the last hurdle in Golkar's plan.

The Moslem-based faction has said it would agree to Golkar's draft only if it was incorporated in the State Policy Guidelines, rather than a separate MPR decree.

Golkar spokesman Slamet Effendy Yusuf told an Assembly ad hoc committee session that even with the decree the president could not exercise the authority arbitrarily.

"We expect that everything will go through democratic means and the (establishment) of a democratic society requires that all dynamics run ... (in accordance to) national consensus," Slamet said.

He said excessive worry about as yet unforeseeable situations that could endanger the country was not behind Golkar's bid for the draft. Instead, he said, the dominant political group offered an anticipative measure.

"Disturbances, let alone those occurring in such a heterogeneous society (as Indonesia) ... will not be conducive for democracy to blossom," he said.

Armed Forces faction spokesman, Achmad Roestandi, said the draft decree stipulates conditions that a president must fulfill before exercising extra power.

"The president must first consult the House of Representatives, and he or she must deliver his or her accountability to the Assembly," Roestandi said.

He said the extra authority, should the proposed decree be accepted, was by no means a recommendation for the president to declare a state of emergency for the country.

PDI had previously opposed the motion but made an about face yesterday. Its spokesman Ismunandar said the reinstatement of the Assembly decree, after five years in slumber, should not harm Indonesia's international image and cause capital flight or frighten foreign investors.

The decree was introduced in 1966 by the Provisional Assembly and was renewed in each of the previous five-yearly general sessions of the Assembly since 1973.

PPP spokesman Zein Badjeber said the faction rejected the concerted plan to establish a separate decree on extra presidential power.

"We understand this decree is very important, but let's not separate the extra authority from another presidential job to implement the State Policy Guidelines," he said. (amd)