Observers cautious over Friday political meeting

Observers cautious over Friday political meeting

JAKARTA (JP): Observers were cautious in their assessment of a
meeting on Friday between representatives of major political
parties, including several Islamic-based parties, warning that it
may be a fleeting coalescence to court Vice President Megawati
Soekarnoputri for the parties' respective short-term gains.

Bara Hasibuan urged Megawati to remain wary of the purported
political support, saying it was probably not sincere.

"There is a possibility that Megawati is only being exploited
for the sake of immediate interests, and afterward will be left
out once she is no longer useful to them," said Bara here on
Monday.

Bara, who recently resigned from the National Mandate Party
(PAN), where he was a member of the executive board, pointed out
that several parties that took part in Friday's meeting and
exclaimed their support for Megawati were the same ones that led
the battle against her during the presidential election in 1999.

He suggested that the show of support for Megawati was
momentary and politically motivated, with the primary aim of
toppling President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Islamic-based political parties claimed during the 1999
presidential election it was unacceptable for a woman to become
president.

Leading figures of PAN, the United Development Party (PPP),
the Justice Party (PK), the Crescent Star Party (PBB), Golkar
Party and the Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan) met here on Friday to show their support for Megawati
as the immediate successor to Abdurrahman.

While it is not known if any political agreement was reached,
the meeting was the first clear public display of a possible
political alliance to propel Megawati, who leads PDI Perjuangan,
to the presidency.

Both Bara and the National Awakening Party (PKB) warned that
several Islamic-based political parties have not retracted their
statements rejecting the possibility of a woman president.

Separately, Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung and PPP
chairman Hamzah Haz, after attending prayers for the Islamic Day
of Sacrifice on Monday, said that if Megawati was to succeed
Abdurrahman, it had to be done constitutionally.

"Golkar always respects the law and the Constitution. It is
clear in the Constitution that the vice president should replace
the president if necessary," Akbar said.

Hamzah underlined that in an "emergency" situation it would be
acceptable for a woman to lead the country, for a certain period
of time.

"We support the Constitution ... at least she can be president
until the end of the term in 2004," he said.

When asked if he supported Megawati, Hamzah said: "Well, yes,
because we support the Constitution."

Turning point

The meeting on Friday between the leaders of six influential
political parties in Jakarta has received mixed reactions from
political observers.

Ichlasul Amal from Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University said on
Saturday the meeting was a show of force to the public that
Muslim political parties and the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) no longer supported Abdurrahman Wahid's
presidency.

Amal said the meeting was significant, describing it as a
turning point in the stance of Muslim political parties, as they
were the parties behind Abdurrahman's election as president in
1999.

"They held the meeting to weaken Gus Dur's legitimacy," he
told The Jakarta Post, referring to the President by his
nickname.

Amal said the presence of Taufik Kiemas, the husband of PDI
Perjuangan chairwoman and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri,
at the meeting was to show the public that not all PDI Perjuangan
factions supported Abdurrahman's leadership.

He, however, predicted that the gathering would not generate a
permanent coalition between the six parties.

"As long as it gives equal benefit to all parties the
coalition will continue, but after they achieve their goal the
coalition will be dissolved."

Leaders of PDI Perjuangan, the Golkar Party, the United
Development Party, the National Mandate Party, the Justice Party
and the Crescent Star Party met at Al Azhar Mosque in South
Jakarta on Friday in an apparent move to express their support
for Megawati.

Pratikno, Amal's colleague at Gadjah Mada University, warned,
however, that the meeting could hamper democracy in the country.

"The meeting may have resulted in an agreement among the
leaders over some political concessions which could be another
setback for the reform agenda and democracy.

"I suspect that through the meeting, the 'old political
players' will seek impunity for their past sins and an
opportunity to rule the country again," he said on Friday.

Separately, a political observer from the National Institute
of Sciences, Syamsuddin Harris, said the meeting showed strong
signs of political bargaining, suggesting that if Megawati
replaces Gus Dur, she may have to accommodate the interests of
other political elements.

"It (the meeting) was just a reminder to Mega that if she
fails to accommodate their (political parties') interests in
ruling the country, she would just meet a similar fate to that of
Gus Dur," Syamsuddin told the Post on Saturday.

He said the presence of PAN chairman Amien Rais, who is also
the speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), was
controversial because he had to sit alongside Taufik Kiemas, who
is of a "lower rank" than him.

"I don't think that Mega wanted to meet Amien, who prevented
her from becoming president in 1999.

"But I guess Amien just did not realize it," Syamsuddin said.

Syamsuddin called the meeting counterproductive because it
showed that the political parties were not confident that the
memorandum of censure issued by the House of Representatives
could unseat the President.

"The constitutional mechanism is under way. If Gus Dur fails
to improve his performance within the next three months,
unseating the President in a MPR special session is just a matter
of time," Syamsuddin said.

The House decided on Feb. 1 to accept the report of a special
committee which linked the President to the embezzlement of Rp 35
billion (US$3.5 million) from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog)
and the unaccounted spending of a $2 million donation from the
sultan of Brunei.

Meanwhile, a legislator from the National Awakening Party
(PKB), Ali Masykur Musa, said the meeting would not significantly
influence the presidency, as changes to the national leadership
should involve more people than just the political elite.

"If the parties used the meeting to find solutions to the
nation's problems, just go ahead with it," Ali said on Saturday.

Ali, however, said that if there was no evidence proving the
President was guilty of violating the Constitution, any effort to
forcibly bring him down would only create a "dictatorship of the
majority".

"Replacing the country's leader must be done through
constitutional mechanisms. But there is no single article in the
Constitution which serves as sufficient legal grounds to replace
Gus Dur," he said. (02/44/dja)