Succession -- a time bomb?

Succession -- a time bomb?

By Hendardi

JAKARTA (JP): Presidential succession became a public debate
last month after Admiral Sudomo, the chairman of the Supreme
Advisory Council, said that President Soeharto has always wanted
a civilian vice president.

The wish is also shared by a number of people, including Gen.
Soemitro, former chief of the powerful Kopkamtib security agency,
and noted sociologist, Arief Budiman.

However, the debate turned sour when Soesilo Soedarman, a
senior minister for political affairs, said that it was not yet
the time to talk about succession. As Orientals, he said, we
should pray for the best (Kompas, May 16, 1995).

The general election is only two years away and the People's
Consultative Assembly convention, to elect a new president and
vice president, is three years away. In this relatively short
time we are still expected to shun discussions on succession.
Gen. Edi Sudradjat, the minister of defense and security, even
called on the people to leave the matter to the House of
Representatives.

Clearly there is a need to clarify the real meaning of
succession and the growth of political culture around this issue.

Our concept of succession is blurred. Minister Soesilo
Soedarman has said only the Assembly has the authority to carry
it over in its upcoming general assembly (the seventh in the New
Order government) in March 1998.

According to the Constitution, the Assembly holds its general
assembly every five years, ratifying the State Policy Guidelines
and appointing a president and vice president for the next five
years. Reappointment is possible and the Constitution does not
limit the number of reappointments of a president. President
Soeharto has been appointed to six consecutive terms of office.

His continuous reappointment has rid the nation of a
succession since early New Order reigned in the mid 1960s.
Therefore, succession has not become part of our political
culture because we only experienced it once, from President
Soekarno to President Soeharto, in the last 50 years.

So, what we are witnessing now is merely a discussion on
succession and it is by no means a succession.

True, that we have been following the Constitution to the
letter so far, in the form of reappointment of a candidate. But,
reappointment is not a succession.

Take the recent succession of France's President Francois
Mitterrand to Jacques Chirac, because Mitterrand has completed
the maximum two terms of office.

Minister Soesilo maintains that Indonesians are Orientals.
They have a different cultural orientation from Occidentals. We
are not used to the blunt revelation of negative aspects in a
presidential candidate, he said, it is simply not our bone.

Indonesia has its own distinct political culture for a
presidential election. Not only does it differ from the Oriental
culture in such countries as South Korea or the Philippines, but
also from Malaysia which, like Indonesia, is predominantly Malay.

The political culture of our elite is characterized by the
principle of "consensus" in decision making. It is a far cry from
the voting system. Yet, consensus has colored the process of
presidential elections at the Assembly so far.

Such a culture is now practically abandoned in most Asian
countries. Malaysia recently held a general election and elected
a prime minister through voting. Mahathir Mohammad's victory was
assured when Barisan Nasional, a coalition of 14 parties, won.

Consensus or deliberations are actually against article 2,
paragraph 3, and article 6, paragraph 2, of the 1945 Constitution
in respect of resolutions adopted by the House. Both articles
stipulate a majority of votes.

Article 6, paragraph 2, stipulates that "the President and
Vice President shall be elected by the House by virtue of the
majority of votes." It is obvious that the Constitution does not
stipulate a deliberation principle.

The majority votes principle dictates that each member of the
House is provided with a vote. But in reality, their individual
vote is effectively nullified by the representation of the
faction's vote. It is the faction executives who will decide the
nomination of a president and vice president.

That is what happens in Indonesia. Faction members merge their
votes to the faction and the faction will take care of the final
say.

This political culture is actually a closed one. Faction
members and factions are deprived of giving their aspirations
freely. Let alone the nomination of candidates for presidency.
Differences of opinion are ruled out. The lead, in the case of
succession, to the emergence of an "heir apparent" is inevitable.

If we live this culture, we will soon face a political
upheaval. We will soon be engulfed in a sea of guesses and rumors
concerning the issue of presidential succession. We must avoid
the type of succession that will serve as a time bomb.

Undoubtedly, presidential succession is a very important
undertaking. A failure to address this issue publicly, by leaving
it to the Assembly, is a sure way to create that time bomb.

The writer is Director of Communications and Special Programs
at the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Foundation.