Minister Agum officially suspended

Minister Agum officially suspended

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Yuli Tri Suwarni, Jakarta/Bandung

President Megawati Soekarnoputri officially suspended Minister of
Communications Agum Gumelar on Monday following Sunday's
announcement of the General Elections Commission (KPU) that he
was among the eligible candidates for vice president.

"Pak Agum has been officially suspended as of 2 p.m. by
presidential decree," State Secretary Bambang Kesowo said after a
Cabinet meeting.

Agum had been nominated by the United Development Party (PPP)
as the running mate of presidential candidate Hamzah Haz, the
current Vice President.

Kesowo said that the decree, effective immediately, had been
given to Agum .

According to Government Regulation No.9/2004 all ministers
joining the presidential race will be suspended from the Cabinet.

Megawati appointed Minister of Settlement and Regional
Infrastructure Soenarno as the ad interim minister of
communications (not State Minister for the Technology and
Research Hatta Radjasa as reported).

Meanwhile, a few hours before the suspension, Agum attended a
meeting with about 80 officials of the Ministry of Communications
at the Education and Training Center of the state-owned railway
company PT KAI in Bandung, West Java.

Agum mostly discussed political affairs, especially his
candidacy.

"I just ask for your understanding but I'm not asking for your
support," Agum, who arrived in his private BMW car and was not
wearing his gray safari suit, told the meeting.

Unexpectedly he continued to provide a context for his
decision to run with Hamzah. He said that before deciding to
accept the offer to be Hamzah's running mate he had rejected a
similar offer from Amien Rais of the National Mandate Party
(PAN).

Agum said that he had rejected Amien's offer as two members of
the Cabinet, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Jusuf Kalla, had
earlier decided to resign and would run for the election.

He admitted that he had wanted to be the running mate of
Megawati, but pointed out that Megawati's team selected Hasyim
Muzadi, the chairman of the country's largest Muslim organization
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), as her vice presidential candidate.

"I told her that I did not want her to fall since this
competition was too tough and she should be accompanied. But
Megawati's party had actually been working in cooperation with
Hasyim for months," Agum said.

Agum described how he had tried to help Megawati to maintain
her seat in her party, then the Indonesian Democratic Party, in
order that she would not be toppled in her party congress in
Medan, North Sumatra in 1993. However, in the congress, Megawati
was replaced by rival Suryadi.

His efforts to safeguard the congress, Agum said, caused him
to be demoted as commander of the Army's Special Forces Command
(Kopassus) to chief of staff of the Bukit Barisan military
command in North Sumatra.

Before receiving his letter of suspension he expressed
disappointment that his request to resign from the Cabinet had
not been responded to by Megawati.