President denies shifting task to VP Megawati

President denies shifting task to VP Megawati

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid denied accusations
on Friday that he had been trying to shift the responsibility for
making major political decisions to his deputy Megawati
Soekarnoputri.

Abdurrahman, who was on a two-day visit to the South Sumatra
capital of Palembang, was quoted by Antara as saying that it was
his prerogative to involve the Vice President in decision-making.

Speaking before a gathering of local civic and religious
leaders, the President said that "consultation with the Vice
President on highly important state matters is not unusual".

Abdurrahman on Friday was responding to House Speaker Akbar
Tandjung's statement that the President had recently been trying
"to hide behind Megawati's back" when he had to make important
decisions.

The statement came as the President in the past weeks had
delayed making several major decisions saying that he needed to
consult Megawati first.

On Wednesday, he delayed responding to State Minister for
Administrative Reform Ryaas Rasyid's resignation from the Cabinet
and asked him to stay on, pending consultation with Megawati, who
is still abroad and scheduled to return home on Jan. 9.

Abdurrahman, after rejecting both former justice minister
Muladi and legal expert Bagir Manan, also claimed last month that
Megawati would have the final say in deciding who would be the
other candidates for the Supreme Court chief justice post.

A Megawati confidant said on Thursday, however, that the Vice
President had turned down Abdurrahman's mandate to choose
alternative candidates for the Supreme Court chief and returned
the responsibility to the President.

Later on Friday, Akbar praised Megawati's move saying that the
final say in the matter should be in the hands of the President.

"We give a thumbs up to her decision... Gus Dur may ask for
inputs from Megawati but he must be the deciding voice in the
matter," he said.

He then accused Abdurrahman of "stalling" to avoid making a
decision.

"It is inappropriate for the President to buy time in
determining the right candidate for the chief justice post since
this position has been left vacant for a long time," Akbar said.

The post of chief justice has been vacant since Sarwata
retired last November. His duties have since then been performed
by his deputy T.H. Ketut Suraputra. But, Suraputra also retired
last month.

The House has urged Abdurrahman to choose between Muladi and
Bagir Manan, but the President has refused to bow to the demand
saying that the two were known to be loyal to the New Order
regime and partisan.

Akbar said that he hoped the President would have made a
decision on the matter by the time the House reconvened on Jan.
15.

Meanwhile, Hartono Mardjono, deputy chairman of House
Commission II for home and legal affairs, warned that further
delay would only raise tension between Abdurrahman and the House.

Commenting on regional autonomy, Abdurrahman said on Friday
that an autonomy supervisory board would soon be established and
that its members were due to be sworn in on Jan. 15.

He was quoted by Antara as saying that Coordinating Minister
for Political, Social and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono would be in charge of the day-to-day running of the
body. (byg/rms)