Sjahrir says Gus Dur must resign

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)