Hamzah hands over post, wants to focus on party

JAKARTA (JP): Hamzah Haz who on Tuesday handed over his post of Coordinating Minister of People's Welfare and Poverty Eradication to Basri Hasanuddin, asserted his resignation was purely motivated by his desire to focus on party affairs.

"There is no pressure at all from other parties. My sole reason is because of my interest in leading the party until the end of my term in 2004," Hamzah said at the handover ceremony at the ministry's office on Tuesday afternoon.

Hamzah's resignation came as a shock as the Cabinet was barely 40-days old.

There had been speculation that the resignation was prompted by discord within the government particularly after President Abdurrahman Wahid announced that he may have to replace three of his ministers due to their possible involvement in graft cases.

Hamzah, chairman of the United Development Party (PPP), has denied any involvement in alleged corruption.

It is also widely known that Hamzah opposed Abdurrahman's intention to open trade ties with Israel.

As a result of Hamzah's resignation, there have been further rumors that another PPP executive, Zarkasih Nur, who was appointed state minister of cooperatives would also follow suit.

Hamzah, however, refuted these claims.

"If Zarkasih wanted to resign, he would have told me before," he said.

Earlier in the day Hamzah was conspicuously absent at the State Palace when President Abdurrahman swore in Basri Hasanuddin as minister.

There was no explanation for Hamzah's absence.

Abdurrahman in his address expressed his appreciation for Hamzah's work.

The President called on all state officials to give their best in their dedication to their work as they were being watched by the public.

"Even after you are no longer ministers you still have to be responsible for what you have done for society," Abdurrahman said in his address.

Hamzah's replacement is a relative unknown. Basri, 60, was rector of Hasanuddin University from 1989 to 1997 and then served in the People Consultative Assembly from 1998 to 1999.

Friction

The controversy surrounding Hamzah's resignation has caused several political observers to predict dark clouds ahead for Abdurrahman's Cabinet.

In Surakarta, Central Java, political observer Mohammad Mahfud from the Yogyakarta-based Indonesian Islamic University (UII) warned that the Cabinet was prone to friction which may cause greater problems in the future.

He said Abdurrahman's decision to construct a Cabinet built on political concessions made it a liability.

"A clear indication on this is the Aceh matter and Hamzah Haz's resignation," he said after speaking at a human rights seminar on Tuesday.

Hamzah has often been cited in the media as saying that he disagreed with some of Abdurrahman's policies, including the plan to open trade ties with Israel.

Mahfud further pointed out the lack of coordination in the Cabinet when Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab said Abdurrahman would visit Aceh soon, only to have the president rebut it.

"Other contradictions were also evident when Abdurrahman said that the Aceh matter would be resolved through dialog, but at the same time the Indonesian Military (TNI) said that they would fight if separatists tore down the national red-and-white flag," Mahfud said.

He warned that since the Cabinet members came from various political backgrounds, they may tend to go their own ways.

"Abdurrahman also lacks a grand policy. This pushes some ministers to make their own policies and interpretations while others only wait for instructions," Mahfud said.

He lamented that Abdurrahman was not doing one of the most important tasks for a president in his first 100 days, which is to work and coordinate Cabinet internal matters and performance.

Meanwhile, Susilo Utomo, a political observer of the Semarang- based Diponegoro University said Hamzah should now lead a strong opposition toward the government following his resignation.

"If PPP plays the role of a strong, institutionalized opposition, democracy will be pushed forward in this country," he said, adding that the control function must be played by a legitimate and powerful party.

PPP finished fourth in the June 7 general election, with 10.71 percent of the votes and gained 57 seats in the House of Representatives. (har/edt/emf/prb)