MPR may resort to voting on Habibie's speech

JAKARTA (JP): Rejection by four factions in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) of President B.J. Habibie's accountability speech will likely result in voting on whether the MPR members will accept or reject the speech on Tuesday, several lawmakers hinted on Sunday.

Marzuki Darusman, chairman of the Golkar Party faction, said on Sunday that the MPR was close to a conclusion that it would hold a secret ballot for the president's accountability speech following an MPR commission's decision not to deliberate the speech.

"The MPR Commission D, which is assigned to deliberate the president's accountability report, has just decided not to do it because four factions have rejected the speech while the United Ummat Sovereignty Faction (FDU) has accepted it," he said in a media conference on Sunday.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Love the Nation Democratic Party, National Awakening Party and Indonesian Nationhood factions rejected the speech because it failed to account for many issues which remained unresolved during his 512-day tenure.

Marzuki said that his faction was ready for the secret ballot and expressed his optimism that his faction would win it.

"Our faction is the largest with 188 real supporters in the MPR. The United Development Party (PPP) faction, the FDU and other factions' members are expected to support the speech," he said.

He added that the ratio between factions that are for and against the accountability speech is 50:50.

The PPP faction was divided over its evaluation of the speech, with PPP chairman Hamzah Haz campaigning within the faction for an acceptance of the speech.

"We have worked hard in the faction to deliberate the speech and we will likely accept it," he said on Sunday.

PPP deputy chairman, A.M. Saefuddin, concurred and said he was optimistic that the speech would be accepted through the secret ballot.

"We will fight all out for an acceptance of the speech," he said. Saefuddin was also former minister of horticulture in Habibie's reform Cabinet.

But Zarkasih Nur, an MPR member from PPP, reiterated his personal rejection of the speech, saying that his faction was split, with a majority throwing its weight behind the speech.

"I am representing not only my party but the people, most of whom I believe reject the accountability speech," he said, noting that a majority of MPR members had given the report a thumbs down and were expected to turn it down in the ballot.

The Reform faction was expected to reject the speech because the National Mandate Party dominating the faction asked it recently to covey its rejection to the plenary MPR session.

Hatta Radjasa, chairman of the Reform faction, said: "It is almost certain that the Assembly will resort to voting because it is the individual right of all MPR members to accept or reject the accountability speech."

PDI Perjuangan's deputy chairman, Dimiaty Hartono, told The Jakarta Post on Saturday that the Assembly would have no other alternative than to vote if it could not reach a consensus to turn down the president's speech.

"Four factions have openly announced their rejection of the speech while none but FDU, a minority faction at the Assembly, accepts it," he said.

He warned that most people would become angry if the Assembly decided to accept the accountability speech and the Golkar faction went ahead with its decision to nominate Habibie as its candidate in the presidential election. (05/rms)