House members wrestle to push out Akbar
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Leaders of the factions at the House of Representatives (DPR) said on Tuesday that legislators have the right to propose the dismissal of Akbar Tandjung from his position as House speaker.
"I think House members know of the mechanism to discuss this issue (Akbar's dismissal). They can, for example, collect signatures of support from legislators," chairman of Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction Roy B.B. Janis said, after attending a meeting of House leaders here.
Roy admitted that his faction, the most influential House faction with 153 seats, had discussed this matter, but there was no talk of putting it into effect.
Secretary of the National Awakening Party (PKB) faction Amin Said Husni shared Roy's remarks, saying that Akbar's dismissal had been a hot topic among PKB members.
Deputy House speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno said on Tuesday he was ready to take the top legislative post from Akbar if the Golkar chairman was removed from his House post.
The statement of Soetardjo, a senior politician of PDI Perjuangan, underscored the political maneuvering performed by legislators in recent days.
"I have carried out the duties of House speaker both when Akbar went on pilgrimage last month and after his detention on Thursday," Soetardjo said, as quoted by Antara.
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Amien Rais also suggested on Tuesday that Akbar's removal should be discussed among leaders of the factions and the legislators.
"It's true that there is no legal reason to ask for his resignation. But, if the reason is morality, the result will be different," Amien said, referring to the insistence by certain legislators that Akbar retains his position.
Assembly Decree No. VIII/2001 on the guidelines for the eradication of corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) says that any state official suspected of corruption has to receive administrative punishment.
But, there is little explanation on the forms of penalty.
Many legislators have expressed concern over the fact that the House, which is supposed to be respected by the public, was currently led by a detainee.
For various reasons, legislators have proposed the replacement of Akbar, who is a suspect in the misuse of Rp 40 billion belonging to the State Logistics Agency (Bulog).
Many legislators have asked for Akbar's replacement for functional reasons, but others have said that Akbar must be dismissed because he had lied to the public.
The money was previously claimed to have been spent to finance 1.7 million food packages for poor families in about 1,500 subdistricts in several major cities throughout the country.
But, Attorney General's Office (AGO) spokesman Barman Zahir revealed on Saturday that Winfried Simatupang, the contractor of the social project, had returned Rp 32.5 billion to state investigators. Another Rp 7.5 billion of the stolen money was reportedly returned on Tuesday.
Most legislators agree that the return of Rp 40 billion in funds to state investigators proved that the food distribution program for the poor had never taken place, implying the public had been deceived.
A number of legislators, including Firman Jaya Daeli of PDI Perjuangan, proposed the setting up of an ad hoc honorary council to deal with Akbar's replacement.
According to the House's internal regulations, a plenary meeting could call an ad hoc honorary council to review alleged violations to Law No. 4/1999 on the composition of the House and the Assembly and to the Code of Ethics.
The House's Code of Ethics requires all House members to maintain the honor and credibility of the House.