House rejects eight govt ambassadorial candidates
House rejects eight govt ambassadorial candidates
Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The House of Representatives (DPR) has turned down eight out of
27 ambassadorial candidates proposed by the government due to
different selection criteria.
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said in a joint press meeting
with Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda on Wednesday that the House
Commission I for defense, foreign and political affairs turned
down the names of eight candidates after they failed to meet the
criteria.
"Although we do understand that the government has its own
selection process, we hope that they will take into consideration
our decisions against these eight," Akbar said.
He declined to name the candidates nor where they were
supposed to have been stationed. Hassan said both sides would
further discuss the eight candidates without revealing when the
government would come to a decision.
Commission I vice chairman Amris Hassan said that the eight
candidates the House revoked were designated for countries in
Europe, South Asia and the Middle East. Talks have not begun on
the empty ambassadorial post in Australia, he said.
He added that one of the different criteria was the age factor.
While legislators wanted an age limit for candidates, he said,
the government argued that an ambassadorial post was a political
position that must not be restricted by age.
The recent amendment to the 1945 Constitution requires the
government to consult the House's opinion and consideration in
every ambassadorial appointment, including the installment of
foreign ambassadors to Indonesia.
In practice, candidates must present legislators with a
proposal on their plans and mission for the designated country.
The new requirements have prolonged the selection process, and
a number of ambassadorial posts have been left vacant as a
result.
Last September, Hassan lamented that Indonesia was the only
country in the world where legislators had a say in the
appointment of ambassadors.
Legislators have come under fire for interfering too much
with executives powers, and although the government may ignore
their considerations, doing so may create political friction.
Akbar said Wednesday that the government and the House were
planning to draw up guidelines for the selection of future
ambassadors in order to speed up the selection process and
prevent friction over different candidates.
"We agreed that there should be a benchmark, a yardstick to
measure whether someone is fit to pass the selection for an
ambassadorial post," said Akbar.
Hassan said he, too, hoped for a common ground between the two
sides. "We talked about how to harmonize the implementation of
the Constitution," Hassan said.
Amris said talks were also underway on plans to create a new
law on the overseas appointment of state officials.
Until then, he said, legislators and the government would
start with agreeing on the basic parameters for the appointment
of ambassadors.