Public seen not ready for debate on presidential term

Public seen not ready for debate on presidential term

JAKARTA (JP): The discussion on whether Indonesia needs to
limit the presidential term continued yesterday with political
analysts airing conflicting views.

Former cabinet minister Rudini, Moslem scholar Amien Rais and
political observer Fadjar Ismail separately said the discourse
should be delayed until incumbent President Soeharto was no
longer in power. They agreed a limitation to the presidential
term could only apply when the majority of people were ready.

However, other observers, including lecturer Ichlasul Amal and
politician Jaelani Naro, wanted to have the discussion now.

"The time (for a presidential term limitation) will come when
our political system runs steady and each political organization
can come up with qualified presidential nominees," said former
minister of home affairs Rudini.

"A discussion on a presidential term limitation will only be
possible in the post-Soeharto era," said Amien Rais, a lecturer
at Gadjah Mada University. Amien was in 1993 the first scholar to
call for an open discourse on presidential succession, a
politically taboo subject at the time.

"People, especially the young, must find an appropriate time
to discuss the issue," said Fadjar, a lecturer at Diponegoro
University in Semarang.

The observers were commenting on Minister of Transmigration
Siswono Yudohusodo's recent suggestion that Indonesia limit a
president's tenure to 10 years in the post-Soeharto era after
2003.

Soeharto himself stepped into the debate when he said on
Thursday that people arguing about the issue should just look to
the 1945 Constitution as the answer was already delineated there.

The 1945 Constitution says a president and vice president are
elected for a five-year term and can be reelected.

Rudini justified his opinion on the grounds that most
Indonesians are still too politically immature to understand the
proposal for a presidential term limitation.

He said those who brought up the issue for public discussion
should back up their opinion with reasonable arguments.

"I believe it will not be a problem for President Soeharto to
accept the proposal if (those who propose the limitation) have
strong and reasonable grounds," he said.

Rudini said Indonesians should now concentrate on electing a
young but superb citizen to assist President Soeharto as the next
vice president for the next five-year term.

"It would be better if President Soeharto was reelected to
give him the opportunity to guide the vice president, especially
in decision-making processes," he said.

"The next vice president may be smarter than President
Soeharto, but he or she may lack experience in decision-making,"
he added.

Amien Rais suggested that a term limitation be imposed not
only on the presidency but on all government positions.

"Absolute and prolonged power tends to corrupt," he said. "A
person will lose his or her political vision after holding a
position for a long period of time."

Former chairman of the Moslem-based United Development Party,
Jaelani Naro, suggested that the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR) take the initiative to discuss the term limitation.

The Assembly, which is the upper House, will convene next
March to draw up the new Broad Guidelines of State Policies and
elect a president and vice president.

Lecturer Ichlasul Amal called for the discussion now. "We must
have the courage to start the discussion, otherwise we'll never
have the chance to improve our political system," he said.

Amal disagreed with the suggestion that MPR alone should take
the initiative to discuss the presidential term limitation. "The
public needs to be involved in the discussion," he said. "MPR
will only need to follow up on the public debate when it convenes
in March."

Separately, Minister of Information R. Hartono said yesterday
that any discussion on the state's political system should not
disregard the principles contained in the 1945 Constitution.

"To change the 1945 Constitution means to change the country's
whole political, economic and social structure," he told
reporters after attending the 52nd anniversary of the House of
Representatives.

Hartono did not dismiss the possibility of electing a
president through voting, a decision-making method which was
frowned upon, but said Indonesia was historically a nation that
settled disputes through a deliberation of consensus.

Naro said voting was the presidential election mechanism
stipulated in the 1945 Constitution.

He, however, said the decision to discuss the term limitation
would largely depend on MPR's major factions.

"What can we do if the largest factions reject the proposal to
elect the president through voting?" he asked.

He said the Golkar faction, which has more than 600
representatives in the Assembly, would play a significant role in
influencing any meeting. (imn/har/23/10)