Hari replaces Syarwan as House deputy speaker
JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the Armed Forces (ABRI) faction in the House of Representatives Hari Sabarno assumed his new post as House deputy speaker yesterday, replacing Lt. Gen. (ret) Syarwan Hamid who was recently appointed Minister of Home Affairs.
In a plenary House session presided over by House Speaker Harmoko, Hari took his oath before Chief Justice Sarwata.
It was not immediately clear yesterday who would take over the post vacated by Hari. Replacements for a number of Golkar legislators who resigned under pressure because their appointments were considered "nepotistic" have also yet to be announced.
Among those who resigned their legislative posts -- which critics said they would not have obtained without familial or political connections -- were Syarwan's wife, Harmoko's wife, and the daughter and spouse of Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto.
Yesterday, Harmoko, who is also Golkar chairman, calmly responded to journalists' queries about what would happen now that one of Golkar's strongest allies, MKGR, had deserted it and formed a new political party. Another ally of Golkar, Kosgoro, had stated it was considering the same move.
"It's their rights. But Golkar is a grouping of cadres, whose members are 36 millions individuals, not mass organizations or allied groupings," he was quoted by Antara as saying.
MKGR is led by Mien Soegandhi, a former minister of women's roles, who has earlier claimed that the new party would attract about 25 million supporters across the country.
"Go ahead and form new parties. Golkar will continue to exist," Harmoko said, adding that he did not feel as if the grouping was "deflated" by its dissenting allies.
In Yogyakarta, however, political scientist Ichlasul Amal expressed belief that Golkar, which has been dominating Indonesian politics since early 1970s, was unraveling and would not be able to win the general elections now being planned by President B.J. Habibie's administration.
Golkar was now weakened because it had been too dependent on the figures in its board of patrons, including chief patron former president Soeharto, Amal said.
"Golkar was never able to elect a chairman (on its own), much less elect a president through the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)," Amal said. "Now that Pak Harto has resigned, all of Golkar's infrastructures are gone too."
Changes
Changes were also introduced to the House Commissions yesterday to bring them into line with the new cabinet. The commissions now stand as follows.
* Commission I for defense and security, foreign affairs, information, and legal affairs.
* Commission II for home affairs. It will work with, among others, the State Secretariat and the National Land Agency.
* Commission III for agriculture, forestry and plantations, transmigration, food and horticulture, and logistics.
* Commission IV for public works, culture and tourism, public housing, telecommunications, and the National Aviation Agency.
* Commission V for trade and industry, manpower, cooperatives, investment, environment, national standardization agency.
* Commission VI for health, women's roles, social services, and family planning.
* Commission VII for education, religious affairs, sports, research and technology. It will cooperate with, among others, the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology and the National Institute of Sciences.
* Commission VIII for finance, state administrative reforms, national development planning, state companies, Bank Indonesia, Central Bureau of Statistics, and all state ministers office. (44/aan)