House told to mind its own affairs

House told to mind its own affairs

JAKARTA (JP): In his much-anticipated public address after
being censured for the second time by the House of
Representatives (DPR), President Abdurrahman Wahid rebuked the
House on Wednesday for neglecting its main legislative duties.

Speaking in a nationally-televised address, Abdurrahman
skirted the House's second memorandum of censure on his
leadership which could lead to his impeachment. On the contrary,
he reminded the House to mind its own business.

"The government, in this case the executive, the legislative
and judicial branches, each has its own duties," the President
said in an address broadcast by the state-owned TVRI channel.

"The DPR should make laws and there are now some 160 draft
laws that need to be immediately deliberated."

Many believe that Abdurrahman's days are numbered after the
House voted overwhelmingly on Monday for the second memorandum of
censure against him.

The House in its second censure accused Abdurrahman of failing
to heed warnings contained in the first memorandum issued on Feb.
1.

The first memorandum was based on a House probe that found
Abdurrahman could have been implicated in two multi-million
dollar financial scandals.

Abdurrahman maintained, however, that under the 1945
Constitution, the President could only be held accountable by the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), and not the House.

"The MPR's main task is to monitor the government so that it
will not deviate from the right course," the President said.

Abdurrahman has repeatedly said that he should only be held
accountable by the MPR at the end of his term in 2004.

"The government's honest accountability to the people is
essential and inevitable, and this is promised by the
government," Abdurrahman said.

Prior to his television address, Abdurrahman held a breakfast
meeting with popular Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri that
was described by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto as
friendly.

Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan), the largest at the House, spearheaded the House's
move to rebuke Abdurrahman for the second time.

While the President has until May 30 to respond to the second
censure, a team of Cabinet members, led by Coordinating Minister
for Political, Social and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, has been trying to put forward some proposals for
Abdurrahman to consider within this short period.

Team member Defense Minister Mahfud M.D. said on Wednesday the
team had proposed a Cabinet reshuffle by involving major
political parties as a means of increasing power sharing between
the President and Vice President.

"If the option is power sharing, the ministers, especially
those in the political, social and security fields, will invite
the President and the Vice President to rearrange the Cabinet, if
the present one is deemed not to be effective," Mahfud said.

Speaking at the Vice President's office after attending a
meeting there, Mahfud said that the Cabinet reshuffle option was
discussed by the President and Susilo's team on Tuesday.

Mahfud said, however, that the ministers' recommendations did
not include that the President resign or hand over full power to
Megawati.

Mahfud's statement came amid reports that Megawati's PDI
Perjuangan was also coming forward with a set of proposals.

Suara Pembaruan afternoon daily newspaper quoted PDI
Perjuangan deputy chairman Karel Lukas Degey as saying on
Wednesday that the party had also proposed a Cabinet reshuffle,
Abdurrahman's immediate resignation or a full handover of the
day-to-day administration to Megawati.

Pramono Anung Wibowo, the party's deputy secretary-general,
flatly denied the reports.

"The report is totally untrue. We had a meeting with Mbak Mega
on Tuesday but there was no discussion of that", he told The
Jakarta Post later in the day.

Meanwhile, a source close to the President said that
resignation was one of the options mentioned by Susilo's team
during its meeting with the President.

"The resignation, power sharing with the Vice President and
Cabinet reshuffle were all mentioned, but within the context of
political compromise," the source said.

"However, they underlined power sharing as the best choice and
a Cabinet reshuffle would be within the power sharing scheme,"
the source added.

Another source at the Operations Center, established at
Susilo's office a few months ago to monitor and make
recommendations on various national developments, also said that
the resignation proposal was conveyed to Abdurrahman by Cabinet
members on Tuesday. (byg/dja/rms)