History's lesson
History's lesson
For those with a feeling for humor there may be something
comical in the confrontation currently taking place between
President Abdurrahman Wahid and the House of Representatives'
special committee investigating the Bulog and Brunei scandals.
As far as most Indonesians are concerned, though, the stand-
off has lasted much too long. The question that many Indonesians
are asking themselves is what can be the matter with the
President to cause him to repeatedly avoid clarification of the
scandals that, according to common sense, need to be publicly
explained?
On the other hand, what political interests can the House of
Representatives and its factions have by constantly hammering at
these two scandals while other -- and bigger -- scandals such as
those involving the country's banking system are waiting to be
investigated?
In the meantime, while the President and the legislature are
bickering in the House and in the media, the Indonesian people
are left to suffer the daily difficulties of making ends meet --
salaries being worth only a fraction of what they were before the
crash of the rupiah and the ensuing economic crisis.
In the latest episode of the spat between the President and
the House, President Abdurrahman Wahid abruptly left a meeting
that had been prearranged at the President's insistence to take
place at a "neutral" venue outside the presidential palace or the
House.
The committee was seeking to question the President about a
withdrawal of Rp 35 billion (US$3 million) from the State
Logistics Agency (Bulog) by his masseur and also a $2 million
donation from the Sultan of Brunei, which the President says was
a personal gift. The Jakarta Convention Center was chosen as a
suitable venue for the event. But Abdurrahman's sudden walkout
has left the legislators dumbfounded.
President Abdurrahman Wahid has consistently denied the
legality of the committee since it has not been registered at the
State Secretariat, as required by a law dating from 1954. To
explain his seemingly impulsive action, Abdurrahman later called
a press conference to explain the incident as he saw it.
"I left after it was clear that the committee could not give
an answer (to whether the meeting was a political or a legal
forum)," the President explained.
The scandals should be settled in a court of law rather than
by a legislative committee, the President said, accusing members
of the committee of using the scandals to undermine the authority
of the government and the office of the president. "So, what is
happening here is character assassination."
The question of whether the House's special committee has the
authority to question the President on legal matters is indeed a
valid point of argument. Some legal experts agree that a court
would be the most appropriate institution to settle the matter.
In fact, a Central Jakarta court is currently examining the case.
In the meantime, the constant bickering between the President
and the House is keeping the nation as well as investors in a
state of uncertainty and some businesses are reported to be
considering taking their investments elsewhere.
The time is over due for the President and the legislature to
realize the damage that their constant quarreling is causing the
nation. Democratic reform is impossible in a climate of
instability. At present, it seems that the nation has returned to
where it was in the 1950s, when political squabbles finally led
to the emergence of, first, an authoritarian regime and
eventually to the military dominated New Order regime of
President Soeharto.
It seems that unless Indonesians are willing to learn from
history, history may well repeat itself.