Message loud and clear, President tells MPR

Message loud and clear, President tells MPR

JAKARTA (JP): After accepting criticism and complaints from
political factions in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR),
President Abdurrahman Wahid called on Wednesday night for their
cooperation in resolving the country's many problems.

"I fully observed and understood the messages contained in the
general overview of each MPR faction, and I accept them with an
open heart and respect," the President said in his response to
the factions' scathing criticism of his first 10 months in
office.

"It would not be exaggerating to ask that my explanation here
also be accepted in that same spirit," he told a plenary meeting
of the MPR, which on Tuesday tore apart his progress report and
judged it unsatisfactory and disappointing.

"If my wish is fulfilled, then I'm sure the government, along
with other state institutions, will find it easier to lead this
nation out of its difficulties," the nearly blind leader said in
a speech read by Cabinet Secretary Marsilam Simanjuntak.

"Let's begin a new tradition and manage the state in a
healthy, peaceful and effective manner," he said to large
applause from the floor.

The President's progress report presented on the opening day
of the MPR Annual Session on Monday was given a big thumbs down
on Tuesday by all but one of the 11 MPR factions.

The only positive words came from his own National Awakening
Party (PKB).

The other 10 criticized his poor record on the economy,
security, supremacy of the law and anticorruption efforts. Many
factions also criticized his leadership style and his penchant
for starting controversy.

However, none of the major political parties called for his
resignation. The nearest to such a demand came from the Muslim-
oriented United Development Party (PPP) and National Mandate
Party (PAN), who asked the President whether he thought he could
still continue to serve given his poor record.

On Wednesday night, there were none of the President's
trademark jokes as he addressed some of his criticisms. Dealing
with each criticism one by one, he said he would not answer those
he considered as personal attacks based on "like and dislike".

He defended his record on all fronts and supplied detailed
explanations -- often with figures and tables -- that were left
out of Monday's progress report.

Some MPR members booed him when he mentioned money received
from Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, which is currently the
subject of an ongoing investigation by the House of
Representatives.

"It (the money) was a personal donation from the Brunei sultan
to a number of nongovernmental and student organizations in Aceh,
Maluku and Irian Jaya which I know of because they have reported
it to me," he said.

The House is currently looking into the Bruneigate affair
because the US$2 million which was handled by the President's
office was never reported to the Ministry of Finance.

The President lightly dismissed the Bulogate scandal as a
legal case with a suspect facing trial soon and another still at
large.

The Rp 35 billion ($3.8 million) scandal is also under the
House's investigation, amid allegations that members of the
President's inner circle might have been involved.

On complaints at the slow progress in eliminating the
territorial structures of the Army, the President cautioned that
the policy could backfire unless the nation moved cautiously.

He said the nation could not ignore the reality that the
institutions to replace Army commands were not ready. If they
were scrapped overnight, it would create even more problems, he
added.

"The internal reform in the Indonesian Military and the
National Police cannot be carried out drastically to avoid the
risk of failure," he said.

The President said he had allowed people in Irian Jaya to
raise separatist flags and hold a conference to discuss their
independence aspirations "in order to reduce tensions and the
potential for violence from spreading in Irian Jaya".

"But if this good gesture is abused by people to further their
separatist goals, then the government will not hesitate to ban
the hoisting of the flags," he said, stressing that the
government was committed to defending Indonesia's territorial
integrity.

The President said delays in granting special autonomy status
to Irian Jaya and Aceh were largely caused by the fact that the
legislations' drafts were being prepared by the legislative
councils in the two provinces and not by the central government.

The two drafts had been received and were now being fine-tuned
in keeping with the spirit of the unitary state system of
government. "The government hoped to present both drafts law to
the House of Representatives this very year," he said. (emb/prb)