PKB pledges to fight against special session

PKB pledges to fight against special session

JAKARTA (JP): The National Awakening Party (PKB) pledged it
would employ any and every possible measure to ensure the
People's Consultative Assembly's Annual Session, which begins on
Monday, does not evolve into a special session which could
impeach President Abdurrahman Wahid.

"We will deploy our power and use all our rights at the
Assembly to avoid a special session," Yusuf Muhammad, chairman of
the PKB faction at the Assembly, said here on Sunday evening.

He maintained that in accordance with the 1999 State Policy
Guidelines, the Assembly's Annual Session, the first in history,
was designed to evaluate the government's progress and propose
the necessary corrections to improve its performance.

"The state policy guidelines also recommend the President make
adjustments in the first year of his term in office as the
situation demands in order to carry out the economic development
program, develop democracy and uphold the supremacy of law and
human rights," he said.

Yusuf appealed to all factions to stay within the corridors of
the Constitution. "Factions should not focus on their own
interests but on what the nation needs to defuse the prolonged
crises, enforce the law, create a stable political situation and
improve the people's social welfare."

Yusuf, who also is a senior Muslim cleric, asserted his
faction, which holds 57 of the 700 Assembly seats, would reject
any draft decree which would allow the Assembly to call for a
special session.

"Such a draft decree is not needed since the Assembly already
has a decree on the mechanisms of a special session," he said,
referring to the 1978 decree that allows the House of
Representative to propose the Assembly hold a special session.

A number of members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction have reportedly threatened to
walk out of the Annual Session if it becomes a special session.

"We will likely walk out if other factions force their way to
hold a special session," Sophan Sophiaan, chairman of the PDI
Perjuangan faction, said.

Abdurrahman's administration has come under increasing fire in
the past few months, with several legislators hinting of the
possibility of holding a special session which would open the
possibility of impeaching the President.

Ade Khomaruddin of the Golkar Party faction said his faction
would be very critical in evaluating the President's progress
report, however he was vague on whether they would support a
proposal for a special session.

"To our faction, the grade for the President's performance is
a five because he and his administration have made no progress in
many fields, including economic development and law enforcement,"
he said here on Sunday.

Asked whether his faction would support a motion to impeach
the President, he replied: "Our faction will consistently stick
to the Constitution and the law that states the Annual Session is
held to evaluate the government's performance."

One debate which already was brewing on Sunday was whether any
amendments would be necessary to Article 29 of the Constitution
on religion.

Jacob Tobing of the PDI Perjuangan faction and Akbar Tandjung
of the Golkar faction separately said on Sunday they were opposed
to any changes to the article.

Both said their factions would fight to ensure other factions
in the Assembly recognized that the presence of different
religions and ethnic groups was a fact that cemented the
pluralist nation.

Several minority factions have proposed inserting a clause in
the article requiring Muslims to adhere to Islamic law, or
syariah.

Yusuf said the PKB faction also opposed amending the article
because it wished to maintain the nation's heterogeneity. "PKB as
a religious, nationalist party will reject the insertion ... it
would certainly jeopardize national unity." (rms)