House leaders undecided over new police boss

House leaders undecided over new police boss

JAKARTA (JP): House of Representatives leaders failed to make
a united stand on Monday on whether to endorse or reject
President Abdurrahman Wahid's appointment of Gen. Suryo Bimantoro
as the new National Police chief in place of Gen. Rusdihardjo.

A meeting of House leaders was called on Monday in the middle
of a recess to discuss the constitutionality of the change in
view of a new ruling which states that the appointment of the
National Police chief must first be endorsed by the House.

The President chose to ignore the ruling, enacted by the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) in August, and installed
Bimantoro on Saturday.

Many in the House view his move as being in contempt of the
law and the House but others have accepted his decision because
the House has not yet enacted the consultative mechanism on the
appointment of the National Police chief.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung told reporters after the four-
hour meeting that it was agreed that the legislature could not
prevent the President from doing what he did on Saturday.

He said there was an agreement that the President should have
abided by the MPR ruling and consulted the House, he said. But
the leaders were divided on what course to pursue next.

"The (leadership) meeting did not have the capacity to decide
whether to reject or endorse. This matter will be discussed in a
plenary session of the House next month," Akbar, who is also
chairman of the Golkar Party, said.

He added that the House would probably be forced to take a
vote on the issue.

Akbar said the House leadership would also question
Abdurrahman at the next consultative meeting next month.

MPR Speaker Amien Rais accused the President of breaching the
decree on Saturday and has threatened to call for a special
session of the Assembly to demand his accountability.

Calling for an MPR special meeting is widely seen as a process
to impeach the president.

None of the House leaders present at the meeting on Monday,
however, took up Amien's proposal.

There was no mention of an MPR special session, Akbar said.

Akbar said the President had informed him beforehand of the
plan to install Bimantoro on Saturday because the country was
facing an "emergency" situation whereby international pressure
was mounting for Indonesia to resolve problems in Atambua.

Atambua is the East Nusa Tenggara town where three United
Nations relief workers were killed by a mob of East Timorese
refugees early this month. Indonesia has since come under
international criticism for failing to provide security for the
UN workers.

Akbar said the President went ahead with Bimantoro's
appointment on Saturday in spite of his request to delay it.

"We hope it will never happen again," he said.

The President, who left on another foreign trip on Monday,
said he fired Rusdihardjo for failing to act on his order to
arrest the son of former president Soeharto and an Islamic leader
"to prevent more bombings in the future".

Police have said that they do not have sufficient legal ground
to carry out the President's instruction to arrest Tommy Soeharto
and Habib Ali Baagil. (edt/jun)