PPP to press its stance on crisis

PPP to press its stance on crisis

JAKARTA (JP): The General Session of the People's Consultative
Assembly kicked off yesterday with the United Development Party
(PPP) faction setting its sights on breaking the long held
convention of having a uniform opinion.

Chief of the PPP faction in the Assembly, Jusuf Syakir, said
after an internal meeting with his team that his party would ask
the Assembly to include economic crisis as a global phenomenon in
the 1998/2003 State Policy Guidelines.

"The draft of policy guidelines apparently fails to touch the
actual issue. We demand that the Assembly deliberate our
proposal," Jusuf said on the sidelines of a PPP meeting at the
Assembly building.

A draft of the State Policy Guidelines will be deliberated by
the Assembly Commission B on Thursday.

All five factions in the Assembly have agreed on the Golkar-
sponsored draft during the preliminary meetings which concluded
in January.

Head of the Golkar faction Ginandjar Kartasasmita said over
the weekend that his faction did not wish to make any changes in
the draft. He said the document already contained anticipation of
the impacts of the financial crisis.

Economic woes that started to shake Southeast and East Asian
countries in July last year have caused widespread price
increases, massive lay-offs and a severe economic slowdown. A
wave of riots over price rises has erupted in at least 25 towns
and cities across Indonesia.

Jusuf said he understood that the Assembly working committee
had failed to give much attention to the monetary turmoil because
at that time people had yet to feel the pinch of the crisis.

He suggested, however, that the Assembly should not turn a
blind eye to the real situation now facing the nation and cited
the huge number of people suffering from the protracted crisis.

All the factions in the Assembly were preparing their overview
of President Soeharto's accountability speech until late last
night. Each faction was given 14 hours, starting from midday
yesterday, to discuss their stance. They will deliver their
results tomorrow.

The Assembly factions look set to accept Soeharto's 2,000-page
report on his performance, as several faction members have
indicated.

Ginandjar said Golkar did not have any reasons to reject the
accountability report because the grouping has already given two
thumbs up to the President's state-of-the-nation speech delivered
on Aug. 16, the eve of Independence Day.

"The speech today serves only as a supplement to the
President's state-of-the-nation speeches over the past five
years," Ginandjar said.

Leader of the Armed Forces faction Lt. Gen. Hari Sabarno said
his faction could in general accept Soeharto's address.

"We have renominated Pak Harto for the presidency. Why should
we speak about anything wrong with the accountability speech?"
Hari said.

Hari's colleague, Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudoyono, added that
although the Armed Forces would likely approve the accountability
report, the faction would still study it first.

Outside of the Assembly building, life went on as usual
despite the marked presence of the military. Traditional markets,
supermarkets and other public sites were busy with people
enjoying Sunday.

Tight security measures applied only in the Assembly compound,
with police officers posted at the gate often searching people
entering the venue for the General Session.

Earlier yesterday Assembly Speaker Harmoko declared the
quinquennial convention open with a call for the nation to remain
resilient in the wake of the economic crisis.

Harmoko said the crisis, which has escalated to affect social
life, was of a global phenomenon marking the entry of the 21st
century.

"We are facing trying times just like the other Southeast and
East Asian countries. But the coming century is believed to bring
new hopes and opportunities," Harmoko said in his address.

Later in the day, Golkar faction executives, including those
from the Armed Forces and the bureaucracy, met with members of
Golkar's board of patrons, including B.J. Habibie.

Antara said the meeting was held to as a final check with
regard to the faction's nomination of Habibie as the 1998/2003
vice president.

The meeting was attended by Golkar faction chief, Ginandjar
Kartasasmita and outgoing ministers Hartarto, Tarmizi Taher and
Azwar Anas, who are all senior Golkar members.

Akbar Tandjung, another Golkar executive, said Golkar and its
allies, the Armed Forces and the regional representative
factions, have been working closely in order to ensure the
General Session proceeds successfully. The three also lobbied the
two minority factions, the PPP and the Indonesian Democratic
Party (PDI), to ensure smooth presidential and vice presidential
elections. (byg/amd)