Soeharto's world on Bambang's dismissal awaited

Soeharto's world on Bambang's dismissal awaited

JAKARTA (JP): The Central Executive Board of Golkar has not yet received words from President Soeharto about its proposal to dismiss Bambang Warih Koesoemo from the House of Representatives (DPR), deputy chairman Abdul Gafur said yesterday.

"We're still waiting...We don't know yet," Gafur told reporters. "We've submitted the proposal to the House leaders (to be forwarded to President Soeharto)."

Gafur's remarks, made during a post-Idul Fitri reception at the Supreme Advisory Council of which he is a member, refuted the suggestions that the President has endorsed the plan to dismiss Bambang on grounds of failing to observe the group's official line.

Senior Golkar politician Alamsjah Prawiranegara earlier said that Soeharto approved the dismissal during a meeting with Golkar leaders at his Jl. Cendana residence. Soeharto is also the chief patron of the ruling political group.

Gafur said Golkar had not been officially informed of Soeharto's decision on the issue.

"We can only wait for the results," he said, adding however that as far as the executive board was concerned, the decision was final and is now simply awaiting for the official seal of approval from the head of state.

Golkar executive board last month presented a letter proposing the dismissal of Bambang to House Speaker Wahono. The latter sat on the issue for two weeks before passing it on to Soeharto "with additional notes". The content of these notes has since been the subject of speculation.

Meanwhile, Bambang faithfully went about his legislature duties yesterday, attending a plenary meeting with Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad and another with the House's Commission on State Budget.

"I'll make the most of the rest of my time here, I'll be here until the very last minute," he told The Jakarta Post. "After all my duties here are completed, only then can I think of myself and of what I'm going to do next."

Bambang said he will still proceed with his plan to sue Golkar leaders, both the central executive board and the East Java branch -- which initiated his dismissal, for tarnishing his name.

"I'll think about this plan more thoroughly later...it would be selfish of me to think about it now, as I still have much to do here," he said.

Bambang said he's still actively involved in various discussion in his commission, including the one on the state budget for the 1995-1996 fiscal year.

Sri Bintang Pamungkas, a legislator of the United Development Party (PPP) who is also being "recalled" by his faction, failed to show up at the DPR plenary meeting yesterday.

"Plenary meetings are not interesting," Bintang said defiantly from his home. "Everything that's said in those meetings have been pre-arranged and all that everybody does is nodding their agreement."

"Whenever a person tries to argue or protest, he's treated as if he's a weirdo, and I don't want to be looked at as a weirdo," he told the Post.

He also lashed out at fellow legislators who sign meetings' attendance record only to disappear for the rest of the working day. "That's deceitful...I'd rather be honest and don't show up at all," he said.

Bintang, however, said he is still faithfully meeting his other duties, including representing his party faction in a small team entrusted with task to examine the performance of the state budget commission. "This team is studying many things, especially the question of how effective is our monitoring of the government's implementation of state budget," he said.

Bintang said this team is scheduled to meet more intensively in June and July. "By that time, I don't know whether I'll still be there," he laughed.

Shortly after Golkar decided to dismiss Bambang Warih for his alleged habit of deviating from the organization's official line, PPP announced it was also dismissing Bintang.

PPP leaders accused Bintang of not only deviating from party's official line, but also of conducting an unpardonable gaffe of questioning the legality of the state ideology Pancasila.

PPP chairman Ismail Hasan Metareum recently said that the party's interests were "harmed" after it recruited Bintang in 1992. "We lost more than we gained recruiting him," Ismail said. (29/swe)