Gus Dur given three months after August

Gus Dur given three months after August

JAKARTA (JP): Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR) Amien Rais has called on President Abdurrahman Wahid to
improve his administration and gave him two to three months after
the August General Session to achieve positive results.

"The Indonesia population of 210 million cannot be held
hostage by one person named Abdurrahman Wahid. Whether or not he
will continue (as President) will totally depend on the 700-
member MPR, as it is stipulated in the democratic process," Amien
told visiting students from various universities at his office.

The students aired concern that President Abdurrahman Wahid
was plaguing the country with economic, investment, security and
political uncertainties which they feared would lead to national
disintegration.

Amien maintained on Tuesday that the General Session would not
be used to unseat Abdurrahman.

"He should be given a chance for two to three months after
August and if he fails to improve himself and the country's
economy, the people's mandate (entrusted to Abdurrahman) should
be returned," he told the students.

"It's up to the people. In the session, I will only bang my
gavel for the democratic processes of the 700 MPR members," he
added.

The students rallied at the House complex to demand that the
Assembly prompt a vote of no confidence against the President in
the upcoming session.

They said the Assembly should press the President to step down
because he and his administration had failed to make any progress
in their efforts to cope with the political instability and
defuse the economic crisis.

In response to the demand, Amien said the majority of the
Assembly's 700 members remained critical of the government and it
was in their hands whether the President would continue to stay
in power.

But he asserted the Assembly would not breach the rules on
what the General Session was for and how it should be held.

"The Assembly should stick to the rules of the game on how the
General Session should be organized and it should respect the
Constitution, which stipulates a five-year term in office for the
president," he said.

Meanwhile, Irzan Tandjung, an economics professor at the
University of Indonesia, warned that the condition of the state
would worsen if the President was forced to step down in the
session.

"There is no guarantee that the political situation will get
better if the current government is replaced. According to
intellectuals across the country, the situation will get worse if
we have a new government," he said.

He said the political instability had a lot to do not only
with the government's poor performance but with the friction
among elite political groups, security authorities' failure in
restoring order and security and the poor behavior of the
majority of legislators.

"My point is that replacing the government will not solve the
national crisis," he said. (rms)