Hamzah hands over post, wants to focus on party

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)