Mon, 24 Jul 2000

Legislators warned not to prolong dispute

JAKARTA (JP): Observers warned legislators to allow the brouhaha over President Abdurrahman Wahid's replies at Thursday's interpellation hearing to die down, saying keeping the issue alive would only further aggravate the situation while public sympathy was now with the President.

Political observer J. Kristiadi of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said the President showed humility in his written reply to the House of Representatives, so legislators should respond accordingly.

"If the House plans to continue the issue there will be a public reaction against them," he told The Jakarta Post.

According to Kristiadi, Abdurrahman won the public's heart and at the same time delivered a lecture on democracy to the legislators and the public, so any attempt to further disgrace the President would backfire.

Abdurrahman, in a written reply to the House of Representatives on Friday, apologized for the trouble the whole interpellation affair had caused.

Kristiadi remarked that during the interpellation hearing on Thursday, he had the sense the legislators were attempting to dishonor the president.

"There was no political ethics at all, they (legislators) showed their poor quality during the interpellation. So they have to cool down rather than sparking social resistance against them," he said.

The House should have been more compromising and accepted Abdurrahman's proposal to further explain the dismissal of two economic ministers in a close-door session, Kristiadi said.

Soedjati Djiwandono told the Post it would be a "very stupid" move if legislators attempted to prolong the dispute, because Abdurrahman would ignore them as he did the interpellation motion.

"They (the legislators) will look very stupid if they want to continue by using their other rights to pressure Abdurrahman," he said.

Soedjati praised Abdurrahman's apology to the House, saying it managed to cool the situation and, although it did not have any political impact, it had psychological value in fostering a more positive atmosphere in the country.

"I think apologizing always shows humbleness ... that's why it was good for Abdurrahman to apologize," he said.

Constitutional law expert Yusril Ihza Mahendra revealed on Sunday that even though the House legislators were not satisfied with the President's response to their interpellation move, they could not propose a memorandum to the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to push for a special session.

"Thursday's interpellation motion was not filed in connection with alleged violations of the 1945 Constitution or the State Policy Guidelines (GBHN) by the President," Yusril said after a gathering of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) he chairs in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar.

"House members can be adamant in this (interpellation) but legally it is impossible for them to merely force the President to resign on those grounds," said Yusril, who is also minister of law and legislation.

Political observer Bambang Cipto of Yogyakarta's Muhammadiyah University regretted the way Abdurrahman replied to the House interpellation motion, saying his apology was the least he could do.

"The President should have provided a much better answer by giving a straight reply. He seems to like putting his pride on the line, but he fails to show capability in restoring the country's economic, social and political crises," he said on Sunday.

"Even (U.S. President) Bill Clinton faced a bigger scandal but he managed to win the trust of the people, who credit his success to strengthening the country's economy," Bambang said.

He suggested that Abdurrahman give further clarity on the matters, even if it must be done behind closed doors. (27/dja/swa/edt)