Solving problems through conscience

Solving problems through conscience

From Suara Karya

Having taken everything into consideration, I am of the opinion that the idea of accelerating the holding of a special session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) following the memorandum issued by the House of Representatives (DPR) will in the end not guarantee that President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid will step down.

I am afraid that this will result in the rise of new, more complicated problems for the nation. I based my opinion on the following reasons: 1. The pro-Gus Dur mass demonstrations in East Java are big enough and tend to be imitated or followed by other regions in this country. They do not seem to be able to accept the results of the House special committee's investigations, which have led to the issuance of the memorandum. 2. It seems that Gus Dur's supporters still question the legitimacy of the establishment of the special committee investigating the Buloggate and Bruneigate scandals. Furthermore, they question the process used to issue the controversial memorandum.

The process of voting which was conducted openly by all the House factions (instead of carrying it out in closed doors to guarantee conscience voting) and conducted without lobbying or deliberations to reach a unanimous decision, could only be interpreted as an exercise undertaken to make a fool of the President.

I therefore would like to suggest that, to avoid unwanted consequences, we should postpone any discussions or actions concerning the MPR's special session. Let us all give the President the opportunity to improve his performance, to be able to work in peace. There are still many problems of the nation to attend to and solve.

I call on those who demand that Gus Dur resign to shelve this idea for the time being, let alone putting forward new figures (for the presidency) without holding general elections, which is certainly unrealistic.

Please reconsider things thoroughly, and try to find the best solution possible. The fact is, there are still quite a lot of Gus Dur supporters, not only NU members but also the people, including university students. If Gus Dur were forced to step down, he probably would be happy to live a relaxed life, but what about his supporters? Would they keep silent and let the opponents do whatever they wish? I am afraid a social flare-up will take place, which would be more dangerous.

Perhaps all parties should retreat a step to enable all to see each case carefully and with a clean heart. Who is actually right and who is wrong?

Also, who are among the elite that often make provocative political statements which in turn result in unrest and riots? Sooner or later, I am sure, we will all know who they are!

EDI SUKMA WIJAYA

Jakarta