Presidential candidates may have to present their causes

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)