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Indonesian President, Vice President Urged to Seek Political Solution
Indonesia's second largest party Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung Wednesday asked President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri to try their best to find solutions to the current political impasse, thus minimizing social and political costs.
"Golkar wants a solution that will minimize the social and political cost," Akbar said at the opening of Golkar's national leadership meeting at Menara Peninsula Hotel in Central Jakarta, as quoted by SCTV private television station.
"But, both the President and the Vice President have yet to respond to our proposal," he said.
Akbar, who is also Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR), said that the special session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) was an alternative solution to the dispute.
The MPR is slated to hold the special session beginning August 1 with the sole agenda of questioning President Abdurrahman's accountability over his government's performance.
If his accountability speech is endorsed by the MPR, he will continue to complete his term of office until 2004. Otherwise, Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri will have the opportunity to succeed him.
On the same day, an official from the country's largest party the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) announced that his party will not respond to any proposals made outside the special session of the MPR, including the 10-point delegation of all presidential duties to Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is also the party's chairwoman.
The proposal to delegate all presidential duties to Megawati was made in a meeting between Golkar Party chairman Akbar Tandjung, United Development Party (PPP) chairman Hamzah Haz, Cabinet Secretary Marzuki Darusman and Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and Security Affairs Agum Gumelar on Tuesday evening. The meeting also proposed that the mechanism for the delegation of duties be enacted in an MPR decree.
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