Resentment over Wahid remarks

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE, APRIL 10. The Indonesian President, Mr. Abdurrahman Wahid, now on a foreign tour, came under political fire at home today, with some of his critics even suggesting that he was running the risk of being ``impeached'' by the people.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR), Mr. Akbar Tandjung, said that Cabinet Ministers should not be sacked on mere presumption of wrongdoing. The President could dismiss Ministers on grounds of corruption only if they were proven guilty of such practice, Mr. Akbar suggested, in response to Mr. Wahid's assertions, while in Pretoria, that some of his Ministers were obstructing Indonesia's economic reforms by acting in their self-interest and not the public good.

Although Mr. Akbar conceded the President's prerogative to remove Ministers, the Speaker cautioned Mr. Wahid that he and his Government ``may face a sort of impeachment from the people if (the present) social unrest continues to escalate'' at home. The social unrest in focus is the rising tide of public anger, especially from the Islamist quarters in Muslim-majority Indonesia, over Mr. Wahid's move to re-legalise the country's proscribed Communist Party (PKI).

A strand of opinion in Jakarta's political circles is that Mr. Wahid has at present sought to play the PKI card, as it were, in order to put pressure on the U.S. and the International Monetary Fund to extend economic help to Indonesia. However, this (suspected) tactic was only alienating the Muslims besides being contrary to Indonesia's State principles, according to Mr. Wahid's critics.

As for Mr. Wahid's latest hint, in remarks made in Pretoria, about the possibility of some Cabinet changes, a view among his political opponents was that the President might effect the shuffle while still being abroad at this time in much the same way as he had, during a previous long foreign tour, asked Gen. Wiranto to resign from the Cabinet. In the event, Gen. Wiranto was suspended from the Cabinet, not sacked, after Mr. Wahid returned to Jakarta on that occasion. The President's critics have now argued that he could similarly ``decommission'' Ministers suspected of corruption until they could be proved either guilty or innocent in a due judicial process.

The main thrust of Mr. Wahid's anger with some of his Cabinet Ministers, especially those dealing with economic portfolios, is that they have not done sufficient work to secure the release of suspended aid from the IMF.

On the positive side for Mr. Wahid at this time, he won assurances from his South African hosts about help in organising an Indonesian truth and reconciliation commission. This idea went down well with some of Mr. Wahid's critics including Mr. Akbar.

The Attorney General's Office today went to the residence of the former President, Gen. Suharto, in Jakarta to pick up the threads of interrogation from where these were left during a previous such visit by State prosecutors to his house.

Gen Suharto, now under preliminary scrutiny for his alleged accumulation of ill-gotten wealth through charitable foundations linked to him and his family, did not respond to summons from the Attorney General's Office for questioning. As his lawyers cited the failing health of the former President for this, the new practice of interrogating him at his residence is being resorted to.

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Section  : International
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