President hails DPA proposal on First Minister

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid welcomed on Monday a proposal from the Supreme Advisory Council (DPA) to appoint a First Prime Minister in the cabinet to help manage the country.

Council chairman Achmad Tirtosudiro said the President was happy with the recommendation because the presence of a "first minister" would reduce his burden especially when handling technical affairs.

Speaking to journalists after meeting with the President, Achmad said Abdurrahman asked the council leader to consult directly with the People's Consultative Assembly and the House of Representatives about the suggestion.

"He (Abdurrahman) welcomed the idea with full joy, because with the existence of a Menteri Pertama (First Minister), the President and Vice President would be liberated from technical details and could concentrate on tackling more fundamental problems," Achmad said.

According to Achmad the appointment of a first minister would not violate the country's presidential system, as mandated by the 1945 Constitution, as the President would remain in charge of the government's affairs.

He pointed out that Indonesia for four years in the early 1960s had a Prime Minister, Djuanda, who was responsible to President Sukarno.

"And one of his concrete achievements was the Jatiluhur project," he said referring to Jatiluhur dam in Purwakarta, West Java.

The idea of having a first minister was considered by Abdurrahman in March when he said he would like to see Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri assume a more active role in the government as prime minister.

"I need to emphasize here that in the Cabinet, I pointed out that Vice President Megawati also functions as prime minister," Abdurrahman asserted after chairing a weekly Cabinet meeting.

The early years of the young Indonesian republic also saw variations of the government system, giving the proposal an historical precedence.

Indonesia had several prime ministers after its independence in 1945 until the early 1060s. From November 1945 to December 1949 Sukarno, Megawati's father, appointed several prime ministers whose Cabinets were responsible directly to the President.

From January 1948 to December 1949, for example, Indonesia's first Vice President, Mohammad Hatta, served as vice president and prime minister.

"The prime minister would handle the government's daily affairs, but would remain responsible to the President," Achmad said about the first minister's role in the government.

Achmad, who is also chairman of the Association of Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI) played down fears that the presence of a first minister would erode the vice president's role saying it was merely a technical matter.

The suggestion has come at a time when Abdurrahman's casual leadership style is coming under great scrutiny due to his controversial and often contradictory remarks. (prb)