Gus Dur's pledge of zero tolerance gets wary support

Gus Dur's pledge of zero tolerance gets wary support

JAKARTA (JP): A senior political observer greeted on Monday
President Abdurrahman Wahid's pledge of zero tolerance in
implementing a reform agenda with reservations saying that
"violence must be avoided at all costs".

"A humanistic approach must continue and the use of violence
must be avoided at all costs," Soedjati Djiwandono told The
Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.

Soedjati was commenting on Abdurrahman's statement on Saturday
that he would abandon a "humanistic approach" and opt for harsher
legal measures against elements of the New Order.

The President said tougher measures would be taken against
remnants of the past regime claiming that they had wasted the
opportunity "to repent, learn their lessons and regain public
confidence".

Abdurrahman then accused New Order elements of abusing his
tolerance and attempting to stage a political comeback by
sabotaging the reform movement.

"President Abdurrahman Wahid is now starting to experience
difficulty in convincing the public that his political decision
to treat the past regime humanely was the right decision," the
Saturday's statement said.

"It turns out that several prominent members of the New Order
are in fact unwilling to listen to popular aspirations and it
seems that they are intentionally trying to impede the reform
agenda," the statement said.

It then said that the situation leaves Abdurrahman with only
one option "which is to implement a reform agenda with zero
tolerance".

The statement came amid the House of Representatives' ongoing
investigation into two financial scandals in which the President
is allegedly implicated.

The two are the Rp 35 billion (US$3.6 million) scandal
involving the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) last year and the $2
million scandal revolving around a donation from the Sultan of
Brunei that the President claimed was a personal gift to be used
for humanitarian assistance in the rebellious province of Aceh.

Soedjati said that Abdurrahman's pledge of zero tolerance "in
principle" was "a good approach".

He was quick to add, however, that before implementing the
approach, Abdurrahman must first prove that his administration
was also clean.

"(Abdurrahman) must also prove himself to be a President who
leads a good government ... so he must not give the impression
that he himself is involved in any bad dealing or create an
impression of corruption," Soedjati said.

"So, he has to improve his performance as President and also
improve the performance of his entire government ... this will
eventually strengthen his position," he added.

Separately, Cholil Bisri, a National Awakening Party (PKB)
legislator, supported Abdurrahman's statement as a spontaneous
reaction against alleged attempts to discredit his government.

"He (Abdurrahman) is disappointed with Golkar figures' alleged
involvement in supporting the (ongoing) demand for his
resignation," he said.

Effendi Choiri, another PKB legislator, admitted that the
President knew all the parties behind the ongoing attempt to
topple him.

"He knows which people are behind the antigovernment
demonstrations," he said.

He said the President was also very disappointed with Attorney
General Marzuki's bad performance in the cabinet.

PKB sources said Marzuki has recently asked the President to
give him six months to improve his performance.

Deputy Golkar chairman Slamet Effendy Yusuf said his party
could not be held responsible for all the wrongdoings committed
by its cadres and the former New Order's regime.

"Institutionally, Golkar is not responsible for all the
wrongdoings of the New Order regime. And former president
Soeharto's regime consisted not only of Golkar figures but also
those from the bureaucracy and the military," he said.

He said Golkar would have no objections if the present
government was stricter against those allegedly involved in
corrupt and collusive practices during the New Order era.

"Golkar has and will never prevent the government from
investigating corruption cases that occurred in the past, nor
protect its cadres and figures who were involved in such cases.
All Golkar cadres and figures must take account individually for
any wrongdoings they committed in the past," he said.

Asked to comment on Marzuki's failure to prosecute all those
involved in corruption cases and human rights abuses in the past,
Slamet said the President should bear in mind that Marzuki is
part of his government and a member of his cabinet.

"If Marzuki's performance is considered unsatisfactory, there
must be something wrong with the government and it should not be
related to Golkar. For example, the delayed prosecution of three
conglomerates is not Marzuki's policy, but Gus Dur's decision,"
he said. (byg/rms)