PDI-P demands law on ministers eyeing presidency
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Megawati Soekarnoputri has asked Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) faction at the House of Representatives to propose a ruling that requires ministers to resign long before contesting the presidential election.
Citing her own experience, Megawati, who will quit office as the president on Oct. 20, said the regulation was necessary to prevent a minister's political agenda from jeopardizing the administration of a president.
"Ibu said it would be better for ministers wanting to join the presidential race to quit the Cabinet six months or one year before the legislative election campaign begins," PDI-P secretary-general Soetjipto said after a meeting with Megawati at her private residence in Kebagusan, South Jakarta, on Friday.
Megawati's PDI-P is the second largest faction at the House.
Soetjipto said that the ruling should be spelled out in either the elections or the presidential elections laws.
"Whether it is stipulated in the Elections Law, this issue should be addressed," he said.
Soetjipto underlined that the proposal was not meant to ban ministers or other Cabinet members from contesting the presidential election.
Megawati's Cabinet lost its coordinating ministers for political and security affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and coordinating minister for people's welfare Jusuf Kalla, who joined forces to challenge Megawati in the presidential election under the Democratic Party banner just before the campaign period for the presidential election began.
Her vice president, Hamzah Haz, and communications minister Agum Gumelar run under the United Development Party banner, although the party joined forces with Megawati in the September presidential election runoff.
Justice minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra and technology minister Hatta Radjasa campaigned for Susilo, while manpower minister Jacob Nuwa Wea, state enterprises minister Laksamana Sukardi and trade minister Rini Soewandi worked in favor of Megawati.
During a Cabinet meeting in December last year, Kalla told Megawati that he would contest the presidential convention held by the Golkar Party, but Susilo did not.
In reference to Susilo, Kalla and Yusril, PDI-P then publicly demanded that Cabinet ministers who would challenge Megawati in the presidential election resign for ethical reasons.
Susilo, who cofounded the Democratic Party, beat Megawati in the election runoff by a landslide win.
Cabinet members and PDI-P officials said the departure of some ministers did not affect the performance of Megawati's administration. The President appointed interim ministers to carry on the jobs of departing ministers.
Observers criticized the decision, saying Megawati's failure to name replacements had added to the burden and disrupted the concentration of the interim ministers who already had heavy workloads.
"Learning from the experience, in the future we should never let the Cabinet be incapacitated due to the absence of ministers," Soetjipto said.