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