Presidential candidates may have to present their causes

JAKARTA (JP): For the first time, an Indonesian candidate may have to publicly justify before the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) why he or she is eligible to become president.

Calls for a debate, or at the very least some form of verbal presentation, for presidential candidates grew stronger among Assembly members on Sunday.

However, there were Assembly members who could not work out the technical aspects of such a presentation.

Golkar Party senior executive Slamet Effendi Yusuf on Sunday said such a debate was necessary so that Assembly members would know who were suitable candidates.

"We believe that anyone who intends to nominate him or herself as a presidential candidate of a country of over 200 million should have a vision about the nation and state," he said.

Khofifah Indar Parawansa of the National Awakening Party also expressed strong support.

"It should be morally binding because eventually all high institutions of the state should present their accountability to the Assembly," said Khofifah who is also a deputy speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR).

The idea of every presidential candidate presenting his or her vision first evolved in the Team Seven, which is comprised of representatives of the seven largest parties.

The idea received strong support when it was presented at the MPR working committee's Ad Hoc Committee II.

The United Development faction proposed to the ad hoc committee that the Assembly be allowed to question the candidates on their respective visions.

However, there were questions on the technicality of such presentations, such as how much time Assembly members would be allotted to present questions, how would rebuttals be made, and what would be the ethical parameters for posing a question to a candidate.

Slamet denied suggestions that the idea of a verbal presentation was aimed at impeding the candidacy of a particular nominee.

"No, not at all ... The visions should be revealed and the candidates must present it themselves," he said.

Sabam Sirait of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) brushed aside talk that the party's candidate, Megawati Soekarnoputri, would be the one most vulnerable if such presentations or debates were held.

"Mbak Mega has been hunted for six-and-a-half years, why should she be afraid of a dialog or to present her vision which should only take a few minutes?" Sabam remarked.

He asserted that PDI Perjuangan believed such a presentation would not only be helpful, but necessary as part of the prerequisite for a presidential nominee.

"We in no way have any reservations about it," he added.

Sabam, who is also a member of the ad hoc committee, remarked that the presentations should be included in the internal rules for electing a president currently being drafted by the committee.

Among the agreed conditions in the draft are that a president must be above 40 years old, be honest, fair and must submit a list of their wealth.

Golkar Party deputy secretary-general Rully Chairul Azwar said his party would also formally propose that presidential candidates convey their national visions.

"But this will not be of a technical content, because technical issues are already delineated in the State Policy Guidelines," he said.

Despite the various difficulties which may arise, he expressed hope that some form of two-way exchange, in the shape of a question and answer period, could develop between the Assembly and presidential candidates.(05)