Sjahrir says Gus Dur must resign

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid should immediately step down because he has failed to implement the various reform programs mandated by the people, noted economist Sjahrir said on Monday.

Sjahrir said that Gus Dur, as Abdurrahman is called, had, after one year in office, failed to foster democracy, curb corruption, create legal certainty and take legal action against people responsible for the abduction and killing of students after one year in office.

"From now on, we must all crystallize our stance against Gus Dur. The best thing he can give now is his willingness to resign," he said in a press conference held to deliver the political statement of his Paddy and Cotton Foundation (Yayasan Padi dan Kapas) entitled: "Reform dies young under the leadership of Abdurrahman Wahid."

The press conference was attended by political activists, senior journalists, business executives and parents of students who had been either killed or kidnapped during the struggle to topple former authoritarian president Soeharto.

Sjahrir was sent to jail by Soeharto without a trial in the 1970s when he led students to demonstrate against the Japanese role in the country's economy. Afterwards he went to the U.S. to take his Ph.D. in political economics at Harvard University.

Sjahrir said that Gus Dur and his administration had failed to curb corruption, nepotism, and collusion which was the main source of economic problems currently afflicting the country.

He said that the current cabinet was even more corrupt than previous ones.

"The presidential office seems to have been transformed into a bourse for KKN," he said, referring to the local term for corruption, nepotism and collusive activities.

Sjahrir deplored the recent move by the President to delay legal proceedings against three of the country's largest bad debtors, and accepting the invitation of Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra to meet privately at a hotel to discuss his case as shockingly inappropriate.

Gus Dur recently announced that he had asked the Attorney General to delay legal proceedings against three top businessmen, Marimutu Sinivasan of the Texmaco Group, Prajogo Pangestu of the Barito Group, and Sjamsul Nursalim of the Gadjah Tunggal Group, on grounds that the businessmen who have caused massive losses to the state had assets that could help boost exports and contribute to economic recovery.

Experts have attacked the policy saying that the President had intervened in legal proceedings and the move was merely designed to protect the debtors.

The Supreme Court recently sentenced Tommy and a business colleague, Ricardo Gelael, to an 18-month jail term for corruption. But Tommy has not been put in prison.

Sjahrir said that Gus Dur was now more interested in achieving his political goals rather than implementing the aspirations of the people.

"It is possible that the President would lower himself to obtain funds for the (next) general election," he said.

Sjahrir, however, failed to clearly explain how he would push Gus Dur to step down before his term ends. The President can only be required to resign by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the country's highest legislative body, through a special session. The special session can only be proposed by the House of Representatives.

"Let's all join hands (to fulfill the aspirations of the people)," Sjahrir said.

He said that his foundation, together with other groups, was planning to launch a Cabinet watch which would become a strong critic of government policy and help curb corruption.

He dismissed suggestions the country might be worse off if Gus Dur was replaced due to the lack of qualified leaders.

"We've got to take that risk," he said.

Abdurrahman, who is nearly blind and has suffered a stroke, was elected President in October 1999 after a group of small political parties led by the current MPR Speaker Amien Rais joined with the former ruling Golkar Party to support his candidacy.

Abdurrahman is seen as a moderate Muslim leader with a massive following and a champion of democracy, but is also regarded as a weak administrator.

Separately, Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said that the delay of legal actions against the three tycoons was merely the consequence of the government's policy to reschedule the businessmen's debt to the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA).

"By restructuring the businessmen's debts, automatically there will be a delay in any legal actions against them," Marzuki told journalists in his office.

He dismissed speculation that Gus Dur was trying to protect certain businessmen in a bid to obtain funding for the next general election in 2004.

"There was no such deal. Please don't overreact," Marzuki said. (rei/bby)