Habibie must explain

Hesitation from legislators of the House of Representatives to question President B.J. Habibie over his alleged tapped telephone conversation with Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib once again reveals how out of step our national legislature is with the public.

In what is now common knowledge, the controversial recording was first brought to the public's attention by the weekly newsmagazine Panji Masyarakat. The substance of the purported telephone conversation between the President and Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib -- believed to be tapped last December -- concerns arrangements Ghalib had made for the investigation of former president Soeharto.

The conversation appears to lend credence to opinions expressed by critics that Habibie's government is dragging its feet in investigating Soeharto, his family and cronies, and of diverting public attention by launching investigations against some of the government's staunchest critics. An investigation into Soeharto's accumulation of wealth was not only promised by Habibie, but ordered by a formal decree issued by the nation's supreme policy making body, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), late last year.

Any authoritative investigation now lies in tatters. In the recording, the person who sounded liked Habibie ordered the voice purported to be that of Ghalib to "go easy" on Soeharto, his erstwhile political mentor, referred to as Bapak (father) in the conversation. The men concurred that the investigation should continue rather than allowing him to be tried by the "people's court".

The voices, believed to be those of Habibie and Ghalib, also discussed the progress of investigations into businessmen Sofjan Wanandi and Arifin Panigoro. A lesser offense against the principle of judicial fairness and impartiality involves the misuse by the judiciary executive for the purpose of eliminating political adversaries.

Unsurprisingly, Ghalib quickly denied that the conversation ever took place. Habibie's response has been unexpected and confusing -- he is yet to voice an explicit public denial, implying that the taped conversation was authentic. Habibie's order for a high-level investigation into the matter also indicates that the conversation may indeed have occurred.

Unquestionably, the incident has placed the government in an unpleasant predicament. It has the choice to admit the conversation was an authentic exchange between Habibie and Ghalib and risk accusations of acting in contempt of the MPR. Or deny the aspersions and abandon its effort to pinpoint those responsible for the leakage, as well as lose whatever credibility it retains should an independent laboratory analysis reveal the authenticity of the recording.

As far as the House is concerned, establishing the tape's authenticity is an obvious first step. The most important aspect of the tapping, which the legislature must consider, however, is the content of the purported conversation. If contempt of a formal decree of the MPR is indeed involved, impeachment -- or some form of it -- is indicated.

Either way, the case has consequences which the government of President Habibie cannot easily escape. The first -- if not necessarily the most truthful -- thing it can do is perhaps to have the tape established as a fake. Then there would be no question of contempt of the country's supreme legislative body. But then, too, the authorities will have no further reason to harass the media -- an activity they have been engaging in with gusto over the past few days. Their media investigations are a blatant attempt to divert the public's attention away from the second, much more serious possibility, that the government has been making a farce of the people's mandate.