NEW MPR SPEAKER VOWS TO PRIORITIZE NATIONAL INTERESTS ABOVE ALL by Fardah

 Jakarta, Oct 9, 2014 (Antara) - After a lengthy and exhaustive deliberation, 678 members of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), one of Indonesia's highest institutions, have finally elected a speaker and four deputy speakers of MPR democratically.

          Zulkifli Hasan, the current forestry minister and politician from the National Mandate Party (PAN), was elected as the new MPR speaker following voting during a plenary meeting that lasted for almost 20 hours.

          The four new deputy speakers are Mahyuddin of the Golkar Party, E.E. Mangindaan of the Democratic Party (PD), Hidayat Nur Wahid of the  Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), and Oesman Sapta Odang of the Regional Representative Council (DPD).  

      Zulkifli Hasan and the four deputy speakers were nominated by the Red and White Coalition (KMP) led by former general Prabowo Subianto, the founder of the Great Indonesian Movement (Gerindra) Party. Earlier, the KMP also emerged victorious in the leadership election of the House of Representatives (DPR).

        The process of electing the MPR leadership was held from Tuesday night until the early hours of Wednesday (Oct. 7-8) and concluded with the winning coalition garnering 347 votes against its rival Great Indonesia Coalition (KIH) supported by President-elect Joko Widodo, which received 330 votes. One member chose to abstain from the voting process. 
  The defeated PDIP-led KIH nominated Oesman Sapta of the DPD as the MPR speaker, and Ahmad Basarah from the Indonesia Democratic Party Struggle (PDIP), Imam Nahrawi from the National Awakening Party (PKB), Patrice Rio Capella from the National Democratic Party (Nasdem), and Hazrul Azhar from the United Development Party (PPP) as deputy speakers.

          The MPR comprises 560 members of the DPR and 132 members of the DPD with the authority to amend or add new laws to the Constitution. 
     Zulkifli Hasan, in his first speech, promised to prioritize national interests above the interests of all political parties, including those joining the coalition that supported him.

           "There is no more agenda of Package A (Great Indonesia Coalition - KIH) nor Package B (Red and White Coalition - KMP). There is only (one agenda of) the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI)," the new speaker asserted.

           On October 20, the MPR speaker is scheduled to inaugurate new Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Vice President M. Jusuf Kalla.

         "Let us make the inauguration a success, for the sake of the nation and NKRI," he stated.

   
                              Democratic election  
     President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono praised the democratic process through which the MPR leadership was elected.

          "He trusted the mechanism from the beginning and certainly lauded the election process, which finally led to the appointment of Zulkifli Hasan as the new chairman," presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha noted at the Bali airport on Oct. 8, 2014.

          Former deputy speaker of MPR Hajriyanto Y. Thohari also lauded the election process as democratic and pointed out that it was even better than the election of the DPR leadership for the 2014-2019 period.

        "The election process of MPR leaders was much better than that of the DPR. I congratulate the new speaker and deputy speakers," remarked Hajriyanto Thohari of the Golkar Party.

          Fadel Muhammad, the deputy general chairman of the Golkar Party, stated that the party used its network to gain the support of some members of the DPD for the MPR leadership election.

        "I am a former chairman of the association of provincial governors, and I know we have a strong network in the DPD, and we played to divide the groups," he revealed.

        The DPD officially announced its support to the KIH in the election since the KIH had nominated a DPD member as the MPR speaker.

          With regard to the Red-White Coalition's domination in the MPR and DPR leadership, Fadel explained that it will play a check-and-balance role for the KIH-led government.

         "We will work well to use checks and balances and support the government's pro-people programs," he affirmed.

   
                           Consensus vs. Voting
    At the start of MPR's plenary meeting, the KIH insisted that the MPR leadership should be elected through consensus of deliberation, but its rival KMP favored the voting system.

         The KIH comprises PDIP, PKB, Nasdem, Hanura, and later PPP, which decided to part ways with the KMP and joined the KIH.

         The KMP comprises Golkar, Gerindra, PKS, and PAN, which have a majority in the Parliament. The PD stated that it was neutral but did tend to share KMP's views.   
     Central executive board member of the PDIP Puan Maharani earlier noted that during the election of MPR's leadership, the members of the MPR must not allow domination by the majority.

           "We do not wish to follow tyranny of the majority by dictating to the minority. We must speak based on the principles of consensus," Puan Maharani remarked on October 7.

         Puan emphasized that the Great Indonesian Coalition hoped that all the processes in the MPR should be discussed through deliberations, rather than voting. 
    "Better we put forward the principle of consensus in accordance with the Pancasila," she noted.

          The DPD also wanted the election to be conducted through deliberation.

          "We will ensure that the election of MPR's leadership will be conducted through deliberation and consensus and not through majority voting," DPD Chief Irman Gusman stated on Oct. 6, 2014.

           Irman remarked that the DPD did not want the election of MPR's leadership to be conducted through voting as it could undermine the dignity of the Assembly as a people's consultative institution.

            Born in Penengahan, Lampung, Sumatra Island, on May 17, 1962, Zulkifli Hasan was a former member of the DPR and is the chairman of the PAN Executive Board and a member of the Muhammadiyah mass organization.

          Zulkifli claimed that he harbored no ambitions of becoming the MPR speaker, but he accepted the important post as his party, PAN, entrusted the mandate to him.

         "As the MPR speaker, I promise to carry out my tasks as best as I can, and I intend to strengthen the harmony between the DPR and DPD," he added.

    ***1***
(f001/INE/o001)