Play by the rules

Play by the rules

From Koran Tempo

The main problem of this nation lies in its leader, as he has physical limitations and has twice suffered a stroke. Plus how can he behave wisely if the information he receives is incomplete?

I am not underestimating President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid's capability in acting wisely, as we know he is a pluralist and a democrat, but he should not trust the people surrounding him just like that. I am afraid that Gus Dur himself does not realize that presidential figures have been controlled by those surrounding him and this is truly dangerous.

As we know, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is a Muslim religion organization and once it has sincerely let its personage enter the arena of politics, then it should accept the "rules of the game".

On a healthy political map, the executive should have strength in the House of Representatives, which can rightfully make the claim that it works "in the name of the people". Isn't our legislative body the outcome of a most democratic and internationally acclaimed election?

The state of the nation these days requires wisdom, pure hearts and souls from the political elite, who should not search for loopholes in our Constitution, which has, we are fully aware, a number of shortcomings. Aren't the People's Consultative Assembly decrees there to make the admittedly "lacking" Constitution more complete? So why are the decrees then "proscribed"?

Wasn't Law No. 23/1969 on states of emergency declared authoritarian, hurtful to democracy and against the reformation movement? And to Munir, Hendardi, Khofifah and the Democratic Forum: "Where are you now and what do you think?"

Effendi

Jakarta