Outspoken House member Bintang formally sacked

Outspoken House member Bintang formally sacked

JAKARTA (JP): As news of his sacking from the House of Representatives (DPR) emerged yesterday, legislator Sri Bintang Pamungkas promised he would continue his fight as an "opposition" to the government.

The outspoken legislator of the Moslem-based United Development Party (PPP) said he had not been formally informed of President Soeharto's approval of his party's proposal that he be removed from the House.

Bintang said that he was not concerned about that, however.

"I looked for a letter notifying me of my dismissal -- at the DPR and at home -- but could not find one," he told The Jakarta Post last night. "I don't care. I said goodbye to the DPR long ago."

He vowed to continue his position as a critic of the government, saying that he saw his future activities as a crusade against wrongdoings.

"This is jihad," he said, using the Islamic term for "holy war".

The long-expected formal dismissal of Bintang from the DPR was effected over the weekend.

President Soeharto signed a decree approving Bintang's dismissal on Saturday, PPP chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum told reporters in Jayapura, the capital of Irian Jaya, on Sunday.

Ismail Hasan announced that party leaders had chosen Hadimulyo, a member of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), to take up the DPR seat left vacant by Bintang's dismissal.

While saying that he accepted the dismissal, Bintang questioned yesterday the President's power to fire legislators, saying that House members were the elected representatives of the people, the source of all authority.

"I see the President's decision to sign the party's proposal for my dismissal as simply an administrative procedure," he said. "By signing that proposal, the President (clarified) matters concerning my name at the DPR or my salary."

The PPP leadership filed a request with the House leadership in February that Bintang be removed, alleging that he had offended a number of cabinet ministers during DPR hearings, that he had undermined the state ideology, Pancasila, and that he had criticized the Armed Forces regarding both its political and defense roles.

House Speaker Wahono and his deputies endorsed the PPP's handling of Bintang's case and passed on the request to President Soeharto. The final decision came last weekend.

Bintang, who is a member of the House commission overseeing state budget affairs, said farewell at a hearing with Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad in March, although his dismissal had not yet been approved by the President at the time.

"I have to bid you goodbye because the state of politics in this country is like this ... and I hope they don't reverse their intention to fire me," he said.

The Armed Forces recently accused Bintang of involvement in a series of anti-Soeharto demonstrations in Germany last month. He has already been questioned by police over the incident, although so far he has not been charged. Bintang has denied the allegations.

The legislator visited the Attorney General's Office yesterday to ask that a recently-imposed ban on his traveling overseas be lifted.

"I need to go the United States on May 13, because my daughter will be graduating," he said.

Bintang said he would remain active in politics, and would pursue his plan to establish a new political party.

"I would stand in opposition, offering alternatives to the government," he said, adding that if the government ignored his "alternatives", he would seek public support for his policies.

"Becoming an opposition and seeking people's support is not wrong, a taboo or a sin," he said. "There are people who think that whenever someone disagrees with the government, it means that he is against the government."

Ismail Hasan and other party leaders have repeatedly assured the public that the party would not be any the worse off for firing Bintang. "It's our decision to dismiss him, so why should we miss him?" Ismail Hasan said.

Zain Badjeber told the Post that Bintang's dismissal was an "ordinary thing" and that the party leaders did not have to hold any further meetings concerning Bintang's case.

"Everything's settled already," he said. (swe)