Reform committee to be set up today
Reform committee to be set up today
JAKARTA (JP): The initial lineup of the National Committee for
Reform will be announced today, Minister/State Secretary Saadilah
Mursjid said yesterday.
President Soeharto will issue an executive order to establish
a committee comprising public figures and experts from
universities, Saadilah told reporters at his office.
Informed sources said in the early hours of this morning that
the Committee will comprise of individuals from religious and
political groups both within and outside the government.
Sources said the individuals which have been proposed to the
President include Megawati Soekarnoputri, Amien Rais, Abdurrahman
Wahid, Bandung Institute of Technology rector Liliek Hendradjaya,
Gadjah Mada University rector Ichlasul Amal, Cardinal Julius
Darmaatmadja, Armed Forces Chief Gen. Wiranto, deputy chairman of
the Indonesian Council of Ulemas Ali Yafie, former vice-president
Sudharmono and the chairman of the Indonesian Moslem Students
Association Anas Urbaningrum.
According to the source, 45 individuals have been proposed but
it is not known whether they have been contacted or will be
willing to sit in the committee.
Saadilah had earlier yesterday met with Soeharto at the
latter's Jl. Cendana residence. Also participating in the meeting
was Yusril Ihza Mahendra, the constitutional law expert who
drafted and finalized the text of the reform offer Soeharto
announced on Tuesday.
The committee's tasks will be to draft a new set of political
laws, prepare for a general election and general session of the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
Soeharto promised he would not run for president.
Saadilah declined to say how many people would be appointed to
the committee, but said that those appointed would be free to
recruit more members as they saw fit. The committee would be
given complete independence in carrying out its tasks, he added.
Leaders of the University of Indonesia and the Bandung
Technology Institute (ITB), two of the most prestigious colleges
in the country, yesterday called on their colleagues not to take
part in the reform committee or even in the new cabinet.
"To maintain the integrity of the University of Indonesia, we
appeal to all staff lecturers to reject taking part in the Reform
Cabinet and the Committee for Reform under President Soeharto,"
according to a petition signed by 50 professors, including Mahar
Mardjono and Saparinah Sadli.
Sudjana Sapiie, head of the ITB's Ad Hoc Committee, said the
academic community of the college won't join either the committee
or the cabinet either, Antara reported.
Sudjana appealed to academic community in other colleges to
take the same stance to help push the demand for a change in
national leadership. (prb)