MPR special session can be held 'any time'
JAKARTA (JP): The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) could hold a special session to impeach President Abdurrahman Wahid at any time, without the issuance of any warning from the legislature, chairman of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Monday.
"I have previously voiced this opinion of mine to which (Assembly speaker) Amien Rais and the figures of six factions at the Assembly have referred to," he said in Bandung, West Java.
In a meeting with the factions, Yusril said that the Assembly could hold a special session to discuss any matter, but they were divided over a special session and an expedited one, because of their respective legal consequences.
Asked to comment on several factions' inclination to issue the second memorandum, Yusril, also a constitutional law expert, said the House of Representatives could issue it because the 1978 MPR decree regulates that the first memorandum could be followed by the second one within three months, and not after three months. The decree also states that, whether the second memorandum would be issued or not depends upon the president's performance.
"The president is not constitutionally obliged to issue an official response to the first memorandum and he is allowed to give no response because the memorandum is merely a warning," he said.
According to Yusril, his party has yet to see any improvement in the government's performance since the first memorandum was issued on Feb. 1 to censure the President for his alleged involvement in the two financial scandals, known as Buloggate and Bruneigate.
"Even worse, there are indications of the President's violations in the two financial scandals because Sapuan, a defendant in the Buloggate scandal, was sentenced to two years in jail, while Siti Farikah's lawsuit against the House's investigation into the scandals was rejected by the court," he said.
Sapuan, a former deputy chairman of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), had said that he allowed the disbursement of Rp 37 billion (about US$3.7 million) belonging to Yanatera, Bulog's employee foundation, as requested by Agung Alip Suwondo, the President's masseur, because Suwondo said the President needed the money for humanitarian aid in Aceh.
A total of Rp 5 billion was given to Siti Farikah, a businesswoman friend of the President, who later returned the money following disclosure of the scandal.
Meanwhile, the National Awakening Party (PKB) faction at the House regretted the five factions' proposed second memorandum, which it said contravened the Constitution.
"The five factions cannot propose the issuance of a second memorandum because the first memorandum prevails until May 1, and they have yet to hear the President's response to the first memorandum," Abdul Kholiq Achmad, secretary of the PKB faction, said in a political statement here on Monday.
He said the proposed second memorandum was a premature action.
The United Development Party (PPP), United Ummat Sovereignty Faction (F-PDU), PBB and Reform factions submitted a proposal for the second memorandum in the meeting of the House' consultative body last Thursday.
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Golkar Party and Indonesian Military factions remained committed to the MPR decree process which provides for a second memorandum to be issued to the President after the three-month period expires.
Separately, Amien Rais said he was sure that the President's response to the first memorandum would not make any difference as it would not win the House members' hearts.
"Whatever it says, the second memorandum will be issued," he said in Karanganyar, Central Java, at the inauguration of a high school run by Muhammadiyah. (rms/25)