Officials: RI lacks proffesional, wise administrators

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia needs a professional and wise leader to run the administration and help end the political and economic crises, politicians and historians said.

Sutradara Gintings, a legislator from the Justice and Unity Party (PKP), said both President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri lacked the skills to run the administration.

"With all respect to the two national leaders, they do not have the skill to run the administration. We need an administrator who is professional in running the administration and wise in making policies," Sutradara said during a seminar on national reconciliation held here on Saturday.

"He or she could be appointed as first minister or some other position," Sutradara said, adding that Abdurrahman and Megawati were widely seen as symbols of national unity with little administrative capacity.

He warned the political situation would remain instable and the economy would remain stagnant if the nation failed to appoint a professional and wise leader to run the administration.

Anhar Gonggong, an historian from the University of Indonesia, concurred, saying Indonesia needed a brave and wise leader to resolve the threat of disintegration.

"We now need a national leader who has a strong commitment to enforcing the law in order to restore order and security and to end the political instability.

"That person must have the professionalism to run the administration and help defuse the economic crisis," he said.

Having adopted the presidential, not parliamentary, system, Indonesia does not recognize prime minister as the head of government. During the first years of their independence, however, Indonesians gave the executive jobs to a prime minister.

Delegate

Earlier, Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung suggested if the President felt overburdened he could delegate some of his daily responsibilities to Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Akbar, who is also the speaker of the House of Representatives, said the President could concentrate on state affairs while the Vice President handled routine governmental affairs, which would allow for the establishment of improved management.

Emphasizing that he was speaking in his capacity as Golkar chief, Akbar, however, said on Friday the President should retain his role as the country's leader and Megawati must consult with him before taking major policy decisions.

The Vice President is only authorized to decide on technical matters after making all necessary consultations with Cabinet members, he said.

He said delegating some authority to the Vice President would be a better option than appointing a prime minister.

"We from Golkar Party expect an improvement in our government's management, especially in the President's manner of managing the government," Akbar said.

According to the 1945 Constitution, the task of the vice president is to assist the president in his or her daily duties. The vice president also will take over the presidential post for the remainder of the five-year term if the president dies, resigns or is unable to carry out his or her duties

Akbar said the issue of managing the government was discussed during last week's Golkar leadership meeting in Jakarta. (jun/rms/prb)