Wed, 01 Mar 2000

House speaker could replace triumvirate, minister says

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Law and Legislation Yusril Ihza Mahendra proposed on Tuesday that the House of Representatives speaker alone could be charged with executive authority should the president and vice president be incapacitated.

"The House speaker is representative of the people and could be given authority to prepare the election of a president in two or three weeks," Yusril said.

The latest proposal fuels further the debate over who should be delegated authority under the unique circumstance of having the two top government officials unable to perform their duties.

Article 8 of the 1945 Constitution states that if a president is unable to discharge his duties, the vice president automatically assumes authority.

However, there is no designated successor if both are incapacitated.

A 1973 People's Consultative Assembly decree states that under such a circumstance the Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Indonesian Military Chief would carry out executive duties.

They would share responsibility for at least three months until election of a new president.

But constitutional law experts have questioned the validity of this decree.

House speaker Akbar Tandjung last week proposed that instead of the three cabinet ministers, succession should go to a triumvirate leadership comprising the House speaker, Assembly speaker and the Chief Justice.

Yusril contended on Tuesday that there would not be an overlapping of duties if the House speaker was appointed to head the government because an interim leader would only serve for a few weeks to arrange for immediate elections.

He further brushed aside the stipulations of the 1973 decree because a triumvirate leadership of three ministers was not legitimate because they had no mandate of executive authority from the People's Consultative Assembly. (jun)