Gus Dur's idea on power separation finds support

Gus Dur's idea on power separation finds support

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The reintroduction of deputy prime ministers
is believed to be a constitutional way out of the much
anticipated deadlock during the upcoming presidential election, a
political expert said.

Gadjah Mada University rector Ichlasul Amal said here on
Monday two or three deputy prime ministers could be offered as
realistic targets to political factions in the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR), which will convene to elect a
president and vice president in November.

"With the deputy prime ministers giving assistance concerning
administrative matters, the president can concentrate on
protocol," Ichlasul said, adding that the presidency would be a
largely symbolic post.

Ichlasul was commenting on a proposal by Muslim leader
Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) to separate the head of state from
the head of government. Despite asserting that he did not intend
to amend the 1945 Constitution with his proposal, Abdurrahman's
idea has met with opposition from critics who say the proposal is
unconstitutional.

The Constitution confers a president with both protocol and
administrative prerogatives.

A deadlock poses a serious threat to the presidential election
in the MPR because no party will emerge from the June 7 general
election with an outright majority in the House of
Representatives. The Megawati Soekarnoputri-led Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) is almost
guaranteed of victory in the polls, but will fall short of the
majority needed to propel Megawati into the presidency.

Deputy prime ministers were first introduced by founding
president Sukarno in the final years of his rule in the 1960s.

Ichlasul said the tasks of the deputy prime ministers would be
different from the coordinating ministers. He also said the
deputy prime ministers could replace the coordinating ministers,
whom he said had failed to form an efficient government.

Ichlasul declined to say who he thought fit the bill for the
presidency and the deputy prime ministerial posts.

Another Gadjah Mada political analyst, Riswandha Imawan,
predicted the Indonesian Military (TNI), dubbed the kingmaker in
the upcoming presidential election, would support Golkar due to
their long historical ties. But TNI could also back PDI
Perjuangan if the party managed to form a grand coalition which
dominated both the House and the MPR.

A party or coalition of parties needs at least 351 seats in
the House to become the majority faction in the 700-member MPR.

"Megawati will face a dilemmatic situation. She will have to
conform her party's interests to those of TNI and risk losing
popular support for making a deal with the military," Riswandha
said.

He suggested Megawati form a coalition with the National
Mandate Party (PAN) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) to
force TNI to support her without placing any conditions on its
support.

Alternatives

In Jakarta, Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, chief of TNI
territorial affairs, said the military was seeking alternatives
to avoid a possible deadlock in the presidential election.

When asked whether TNI representatives in the MPR would vote
uniformly or if they would be allowed to vote for different
presidential candidates, he said the military representatives
should uphold the TNI's aspirations for the presidency.

"The election will be based on one man one vote but the 30-
member TNI faction is expected to have a united stand," he said.

Separately, the Forum of National Communications for Alumni of
the Nationalist Student Movement declared its support for
Megawati in the presidential election.

"At least 40 million Indonesians, mostly Muslim citizens, have
cast their votes for PDI Perjuangan, which has named her its
presidential candidate," forum chairman Firman Tamboen announced
on Monday.

He said that all factions in the MPR should respect and accept
PDI Perjuangan's victory in the elections and, consequently,
accept Megawati's nomination for the presidency.

He also called on all political parties to accept the final
poll results despite minor elections violations.(rms)