MPR's regional representatives may back Gus Dur

MPR's regional representatives may back Gus Dur

JAKARTA (JP): The regional representatives threw down another
gauntlet as they officially proposed on Saturday the formation of
their own faction in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

The regional representatives said they would do President
Abdurrahman Wahid "a favor" in the special session of the
Assembly, scheduled to begin on Aug. 1, if their demand was
rejected.

"We are considering taking President Abdurrahman Wahid's side
if the major factions refuse to support our proposal," Hatta
Mustafa, who represents Lampung province, said at the conclusion
of the weeklong meeting of the forum of regional representatives.

Hatta was referring to the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and the Golkar Party factions, to which
most of the 130 regional representatives are members of.

On Friday, the regional representatives threatened to walk out
of the MPR special session if their demand for a separate faction
was denied.

PDI Perjuangan and the Golkar Party, which between them hold
367 of the 700 seats in the Assembly, are leading the move to
impeach the President for his erratic leadership.

The Assembly has agreed to ask the President to account for
his rule in its upcoming special session. A rejection of
Abdurrahman's accountability speech will cost him the presidency
and move Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who also chairs
PDI Perjuangan, to the top post.

Fahmi Idris, who represents South Kalimantan province, said
the Golkar Party would support the reinstatement of the regional
representatives faction if other political parties followed suit.

"We have no objection to the proposal, but other parties
should be of the same stand. It is also our responsibility to
fight for the aspirations of the people in the provinces," said
Fahmi, who is also deputy chairman of the Golkar Party.

Nusa Tandoe, who presided over the meeting on Saturday, said
the presence of a regional representatives faction was necessary
to counter the dominance of political parties.

Oesman Sapta, who was unanimously elected the chairman of the
would-be regional representatives faction, shared Tandoe's view,
saying the faction would emerge as a force to balance the
political forces in the Assembly.

"So far, the political parties have dominated the legislature,
both in the Assembly and in the House of Representatives, and
this is truly against the Constitution. We want a proportional
balance of political parties on one side, and representatives of
interest groups and regions on the other, to ensure a bicameral
system," he said.

A balanced configuration will allow the Assembly to pay
attention to both the interests and aspirations of the parties
and regions, he added.

Tandoe said the conflict between the President and the House
could be due to the dominance of political parties in the
legislature.

He said the Assembly would have a deputy chairman from the
regional representatives if their proposal for the new faction
was accepted and that they would be the third major faction in
the Assembly after the PDI Perjuangan and Golkar Party factions.

"We deserve a deputy chairman from our faction as our members
might increase to more than 150 because of the newly formed
provinces," he said. (rms)