The question of Habibie's legitimacy

Up to this day the public debate remains focused on the legitimacy of Habibie's presidency. Habibie was formally installed as president even though the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) decree which named him vice president has not been abrogated. Neither has the MPR decree that officially declared Soeharto president. The law dictates that in order to recall an MPR decree, a general or extraordinary session of the Assembly has to be called.

But what happened when Soeharto resigned without feeling it necessary to submit an account to the Assembly, which gave him the mandate for the presidency. Is it really that easy to pass along presidential powers? It is these oversights that have been the cause of Habibie's present predicament.

Common sense would require the immediate revocation of the MPR decrees that named Soeharto president and Habibie vice president. This is the fundamental step that Habibie should be taking to win legitimacy.

Judging by what happened during his first week as president, however, it appears that Habibie is more concerned with winning political legitimacy. Therefore, a number of individuals came, or were called by Habibie, to convey to him the existing aspirations regarding reform. Those individuals then called news conferences to explain to the media the steps that Habibie was planning to take.

Regardless of the expertise of those individuals in question, and regardless of the sincerity of the intentions of the groups concerned, trying to gain legitimacy by bypassing the legislature constitutes a drifting away from the concept of democratic.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta