House leaders hint at keeping Akbar as speaker
The Jakarta Post, Debbie A. Loebis, Jakarta
House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung looks set to win a battle against his opponents as fellow legislative body leaders have expressed their reluctance to respond to a petition demanding his resignation.
Tosari Wijaya, the deputy House speaker representing the United Development Party (PPP), said although he agreed to the idea of upholding a clean leadership in the legislative body, pushing Akbar to resign was a premature move.
"I think everybody shares the similar wish to have a clean leader, but Akbar's legal status has not been determined yet because he is appealing the court's ruling and so is the Attorney General's Office. Therefore, we cannot make any decisions on Akbar," said Tosari, who came under scrutiny recently for investing his party's funds in the collapsed agribusiness firm PT Qurnia Subur Alam Raya.
Another deputy House speaker, A.M. Fatwa, echoed Tosari's view, saying that everybody would have to wait until the legal process regarding Akbar was completed before they could take any action against him.
"People not only want to have a clean House speaker, but also clean legislators. Nevertheless, the legal matter regarding Akbar is not closed yet, so let the law settle the issue because efforts to seek a political solution will only make matters worse," Fatwa of the Reform faction said.
Fatwa is suing fellow legislator Permadi of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) for accusing him of offering bribes to stall an investigation into a case involving a contractor of the state bank note producer Peruri.
PPP and Reform factions have 99 seats between them at the 500- member House. Golkar has 120, while PDI Perjuangan, which remains undecided on Akbar's case, occupies 153.
Both Tosari and Fatwa were responding to the failure of the legislative body's steering committee to decide on whether to follow up on a petition demanding Akbar's resignation. The petition was sponsored by 79 legislators from various factions when it was submitted to the House last August, but the list of signatures has now surpassed 100, with more support coming from, among others, Akbar's Golkar party.
Pressure on Akbar to resign from outside and inside Golkar has mounted following a Central Jakarta District Court's verdict, which sentenced him to three years in jail for corruption when he was a minister/state secretary in 1999.
Tosari said a House leadership meeting would be held on Tuesday to discuss the steering committee's failure, but he said the House leaders had no authority to approve or reject the petition.
Fatwa underlined that the House leadership served to facilitate and coordinate administrative and protocol work.
"We don't have the authority to make a decision regarding the petition," he said. "Any decision on Pak Akbar resulting from the leadership meeting will only spark a debate."
He said the demand for Akbar's resignation came from within Golkar and therefore it was difficult for other factions to interfere.
Akbar, who chairs Golkar, has toured nationwide to meet with party supporters in the grass roots to defuse the campaign against him. He last visited Bengkulu on Sunday, where he announced an administrative sanction to be imposed on legislator Marwah Daud Ibrahim and several unnamed Golkar members for their persistent calls for his resignation.
Marwah is one of 15 Golkar members who reportedly joined the demand for Akbar's exit from Golkar's top post and as House speaker. Other figures include fellow deputy chairpersons Fahmi Idris, Agung Laksono and Theo Sambuaga.
They expressed fear that Golkar's tarnished image resulting from Akbar's jail sentence would wreak havoc on the party's performance in the 2004 elections.
Akbar told Golkar supporters in Bengkulu that Marwah was guilty of disclosing internal matters to the public, Antara reported.
He insisted that the punishment would not be more harsh than his removal.