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)