The President's measures and his precarious position
There was a chance in strengthening the position of President Abdurrahman Wahid through the latest Cabinet reshuffle, says lecturer in political sciences Arbi Sanit of the University of Indonesia -- before he suspended the National Police chief.
Question: Will the latest reshuffle of the Cabinet help strengthen or weaken the President's position?
Answer: The reshuffle may strengthen his political position for two reasons. First, the appointment of former communications minister Agum Gumelar as Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs will be an effective way to improve relations between Gus Dur (Abdurrahman) and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri. Better relations between the two may help them find a political compromise to avoid Gus Dur's impeachment in the special session (scheduled early August) of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). The key factor for the decision over whether the MPR will impeach him or not is Megawati.
Second, the appointment of former minister of justice and human rights Baharuddin Lopa as attorney general will provide a greater opportunity ... to bring large-scale corruptors to court. (This) will improve the performance of Gus Dur's government, thereby reducing the possibility of his being impeached.
Q: Won't members of the MPR or the House of Representatives (DPR) charge Gus Dur with politicking if Lopa brings to court only corruptors of the Golkar Party (the ruling party from 1967-1998)?
A: It is a fact that many Golkar officials were corrupt. If they can be brought to court, the people will appreciate the government and DPR or MPR members will have to face the people if they do not appreciate it. Thus, the people's demand for the dissolution of the DPR will escalate.
Q: The Attorney General's Office has thus far failed to bring corruptors to court. How can Lopa make the office more powerful?
A: He will have to replace officials loyal to former attorney general Marzuki Darusman (also a Golkar official). After that, the Attorney General's Office might be able to bring more than 20 corruptors to court.
Q: How can corruptors be sent to jail if judges acquit them of crimes?
A: We hope the new chief of the Supreme Court, Bagir Manan, will pressure judges so that they perform their tasks objectively. Bagir, who prides himself as an intellectual, is expected to uphold justice rather than support political interests.
Q: Will the suspension of National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro strengthen Gus Dur's political position?
A: The impact will be negative if DPR members react fiercely. But if DPR members criticize it heavily, this would further drive the police force into the political limelight. The fact that Bimantoro is contesting the President's decision and that many police officers support him indicates that they are politicking.
Q: But some DPR members have accused Gus Dur of dragging the police into politics...
A: The police have actually been playing politics in collusion with some DPR factions. The fact that the police did nothing when university students staged demonstrations against Gus Dur while they blocked pro-Gus Dur protesters shows that they have been politicking in collusion with DPR factions opposing the President.
Q: Didn't police officers, when supporting Bimantoro, make a joint statement saying that they refused to be dragged into politics?
A: They were telling a lie. By making the joint statement, they were actually looking for more political support.
Q: Will Gus Dur survive given the decision to hold the special session in early August?
A: If we consider formal realities -- that the majority of its factions are keen to demand the President's accountability and to impeach him -- Gus Dur might be toppled. But, as usual, irrational things could occur in our political development and he might survive it if, for example, MPR members agreed on a compromise on the division of jobs between the President and the Vice President.
Q: Will everything settle down if the MPR defeats Gus Dur and impeaches him?
A: No, because the supremacy of truth and democracy would not have been upheld yet. The planned MPR session will be held on the basis of the DPR's memorandums of censure -- which were based on an accusation that has never been proved. (The Attorney General has cleared Gus Dur of alleged involvement in two economic scandals).
Q: Why do you say legislators don't appreciate democracy?
A: The democracy exercised by the DPR is merely procedural, not substantive. Most DPR members think that whatever is voted on by the majority can be considered as the truth. How can a president be fired if he is merely accused and if the accusation is not proved? If they consider the memorandums as political, not legal, decisions, they should know that any political decision must be supported by legal considerations. (Rikza Abdullah)