President's husband messes up political order, claims critic

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri's husband Taufik Kiemas messed up the legislative and executive functions when he led a ministerial delegation to China last week, a researcher says.

Taufik is a member of the House of Representatives from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and has no known post in the government.

"No branches of political theory can justify the role that Taufik was playing," said Rizal Darmaputra, executive director of the Indonesian Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies.

Rizal said in an interview with Antara that Taufik had contributed to the confusion of the political order in Indonesia.

"The House job is to supervise the government. Then how can a House member do something which is the job of the government bureaucrat?" he asked.

During the Dec. 17 to Dec. 20 China trip, Taufik led five ministers, namely Minister of Energy and Natural Resource Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Minister of Trade and Industry Rini M.S. Soewandi, Minister of Settlement and Public Works Soenarno, Minister of Maritime and Fisheries Rokhmin Dahuri and State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi.

The delegation met with the Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji and other senior government officials.

PDI Perjuangan officials, many of those critical of Taufik, say that Megawati has officially appointed him as a special envoy.

Sjahrir, chairman of the New Indonesia Society, is among critics who have demanded that Taufik resign from the House if he wants to take up government jobs.

Sjahrir said that by doing both jobs, Taufik had a major conflict of interest.

Rizal said that whatever the reasons for Taufik's appointment, taking up both legislative and executive jobs was wrong.