Legislators seek Akbar's ouster

Legislators seek Akbar's ouster

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Following the declaration by the Attorney General that House
Speaker Akbar Tandjung is indeed a suspect in a financial scandal
involving State Logistics Agency (Bulog), legislators are now
moving to set up a Disciplinary Committee to determine whether or
not Akbar still has the moral right to lead the House of
Representatives.

Deputy House Speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno of the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the
biggest faction in the House with 153 representatives, said here
on Monday that House leaders would soon summon all faction
chairpersons to discuss the possibility of creating a House
Committee to discuss the matter.

"The Committee will assess Akbar's position in the scandal. If
Akbar is deemed to have lost his credibility and the moral
mandate to lead the House, he would be forced to vacate his post
as House Speaker," Soetarjo said.

House deputy speaker from the National Awakening Party (PKB)
Muhaimin Iskandar also called for the establishment of a
Committee to evaluate Akbar's position in the House.

"We need to have a Committee to evaluate Akbar's status as a
suspect in the Bulog scandal," Muhaimin said.

PKB Legislator Chatibul Umam Wiranu urged Akbar to simply quit
his post as soon as possible, with or without a Committee as he
has lost the integrity and credibility to lead the House.

Efforts to remove Abkar from his post, however, will surely
meet strong resistance from the Golkar Party, which Akbar chairs.

Golkar Faction Chairman Marzuki Achmad voiced his objection to
the plan yesterday, claiming that removing Akbar from the top
legislative post was totally irrelevant.

"There is no reason or urgency to set up a Disciplinary
Committee to assess Akbar's credibility to lead the House,"
Marzuki claimed on Monday.

Article 57 of the House Internal Regulations stipulates a
Disciplinary Committee is tasked with investigating alleged
violations by legislators of the House code of ethics, membership
requirements or the legislators' pledge.

The Attorney General's Office declared Akbar a suspect on
Monday after investigating his involvement in an alleged illegal
disbursement of Rp 40 billion of Bulog funds when he was
Minister/State Secretary in 1999.

Akbar has maintained his innocence in the scandal, arguing
that the money had been channeled to a foundation responsible for
the distribution of food aid packages for the poor, which was
part of the government's social safety net program.

Marzuki told reporters on Monday that the declaration of Akbar
as a suspect proved that the legal process has been working at
the Attorney General's Office.

He expressed the hope that the legal process would be fair and
without any political interference.

"We also want all parties to uphold the principle of a
presumption of innocence," he said.

Meanwhile, political analyst from the University of Indonesia
Syamsuddin Haris urged Akbar to quit his post, saying that the
Golkar chairman had lost his credibility to lead the institution.

"He does not deserve the job anymore and it is unethical if he
(Akbar) remains as House Speaker," Syamsuddin was quoted by
Antara as saying.

Coordinator of Government Watch Farid R. Faqih aired similar
views, urging Akbar to step down immediately.

"Now that he has been declared a suspect, he should resign or
at least be suspended until the legal process is complete," Farid
said.