Megawati revokes Gus Dur's decree

JAKARTA (JP): President Megawati Soekarnoputri issued her first presidential decree last week, revoking the decree of then president Abdurrahman Wahid No. 121/2000 on the delegation of authority from him to Megawati as vice president.

In Presidential Decree No. 91/2001, issued on July 26, Megawati stated that the revoked decree was only valid during Abdurrahman's administration which was facing a national leadership crisis at the time.

"We consider that after the change in national leadership the situation which necessitated that decree no longer exists, so the President revoked the decree on the delegation of authority," former vice presidential secretary Bambang Kesowo said on Monday.

Megawati, who served as vice president from October 1999, was installed as president on July 23, after the Special Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) revoked the mandate of Abdurrahman.

The Assembly in its decree No. 8, issued last year obliged the president to delegate the day to day functional duties of the government to the vice president, due to the poor physical health of Abdurrahman.

Presidential Decree No. 121 on the delegation of authority was issued to accommodate the Assembly decree.

Another presidential decree issued by Megawati, No. 92/2001, was on the Vice President's right to grant the honorary stars and medals of honor ahead of the independence day celebration on Aug. 17.

"It is just a technical decree as usually the vice president grants the medals and honorary stars," Bambang remarked.

Megawati also decided to dismiss three presidential spokesmen, Wimar Witoelar, Yahya C. Staquf and Adhie Massardi.

Bambang also said that Megawati will move to the State Palace next Monday, but she will not use the Bina Graha presidential office due to the heavy traffic in front of the office.

"The President will use the current museum building inside the Palace complex effective from January. In the meantime the President will use one of the rooms at the State Palace as her office," he added.

It is proposed that Bina Graha be used as a museum, Bambang said of the office which was built by then president Soeharto in the early 1970s.

When asked whether she was going to move into the Merdeka Palace, the place where she grew up as the daughter of founding president Sukarno, Bambang said that so far she did not plan to live inside the palace.

"Within this week, Vice President Hamzah Haz will use the Vice Presidential office (Merdeka Selatan Palace), so the President will use her current residence as her office until next Monday," he remarked. (dja)