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Leadership Change Will Not Affect Nation Says Wahid Opponent
by Kazi Mahmood
JAKARTA (IslamOnline) - Amien Rais, a self-proclaimed Indonesian opposition leader, said on Monday that a change in leadership in Indonesia would not affect the nation.
Current President Abdurrahman Wahid seems not to have any respite despite calls for cooperation among politicians not to cause rifts within the reform movement taken over from Suharto one and a half years ago.
Wahid managed to tactfully prevent massive protests and a possible clash of supporters Monday when he left for Singapore to officiate the first shipment of gas from Indonesia to the tiny island nation state.
However, a small group of 150 anti-Wahid protesters took to Jakarta streets Tuesday morning calling on the President to resign. Even though a seemingly weak showing by his opponents, protesters seemed decided in their move.
Rais, chairman of Indonesia's top legislative law-making body, said Wahid's hypothetical leadership could come to an end, adding that changes in leadership in many democratic countries is a natural thing and not regarded as doomsday.
The National Mandate Party (PAN) leader, Rais, said, "We have to know that in a democracy, a leader could come and go. In Japan, Canada, the United States and other advanced countries, their people remain calm if there is a change in their national leadership."
In a democracy, he said, the leader of a certain party could come and go, and this is natural.
"It is a simple matter. Do not ever imagine that a change in national leadership is doomsday for Indonesia. Do not ever think that a change in national leadership is doomsday that could harm the nation and drive it to bankruptcy or presume that it would be the end of Indonesia," he said.
Asked about the change in attitude of the Central Axis alliances - Axis Force toward Wahid whose presidential candidacy it endorsed in 1999 - Rais noted that the group had withdrawn its support from the government after seeing its poor performance.
Rais helped create the Central Axis, an informal coalition between several Muslim parties in the country. The Axis consistently supported Wahid until last July when rumors of sexual misbehavior and corruption surfaced against the ailing president.
The Islamist Muhamadiyah movement, once led by Rais and in opposition to Wahid's more relaxed Nladhatul Ulama (NU), withdrew its support from Wahid when a prior female acquaintance of the President publicly acknowledged she had sex with Wahid.
The recent Ajinomoto scandal, in which Wahid took a revolting stance according to some Muhamadiyah leaders in Jakarta, made things worse, and the group now wants to make sure that Wahid is ousted as soon as possible.
Rais stated that the Axis has not yet held mass demonstrations against Wahid because his group believes it should stick to a more civilized, democratic and constitutional mechanism through the People's Consultative Assembly and the House of Representatives.
Wahid's Nation's Awakening Party (PKB) accused the Axis force and Golkar party of Ackbar Tandjung of having conspired to topple the leader.
Rais said the PKB's scathing attack is groundless and not based on evidence, but on suspicion, hatred and illusion.
He also added that an extraordinary session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) to seek the president's accountability is on the horizon as the MPR is "waiting for the ball" from the House.
"As MPR chairman, I can only wait for the ball from the House. If the House issues the MPR a memorandum to hold an extraordinary session, we then have to set the schedule," he said.
"Without any request from the House for that purpose, the MPR is not eligible to hold an extraordinary session," Rais added.
Tandjung, who recently said he and his party would not side with anyone in an attempt to remove Wahid by impeachment, heads the House. Tandjung said the Golkar could wait until 2004 to take advantage of the mess Wahid would have left to gain more strength.
The Golkar ruled the nation under Suharto for more than 30 years coming to an end due to the reformasi movement that engulfed the nation four years ago.
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