Harun said that the dismissal of president Wahid and his replacement by vicepresident Megawati last Monday (23/7) was unconstitutional. According to thelaw, the president and vice president can only be replaced if the presidentdies or if he or she is incapable of fulfilling his or her tasks, otherwisehe or she will only be replaced at the end of his or her term. Harun saidthat in this regard Megawati's appointment as president was a breach of thelaw.
Harun then gave examples of two historical events of how a president hadbeen replaced by a subordinate. In 1967, Sukarno was replaced by Suharto.Then, in 1998, Suharto was replaced by Habibie. The two successions, Harunsaid, were in accordance with the Constitution 1945, article 8. But thisparticular succession was not.
When he was asked what was used to achieve Wahid's dismissal, Harun a formerlegal adviser to Gus Dur replied the "Regulations of People's ConsultativeAssembly (MPR)," and laughed. He also questioned the Supreme Court's rulingthat declared Abdurrahman Wahid's recent presidential decreeunconstitutional. According to Harun, the Supreme Court's decision to rejectpresidential decree was merely a legal opinion. He added that even a legalopinion can only be issued if the House of Representative (DPR) requests."How could the DPR, that was in recess, request such a ruling," he ventured.
Harun explained that though the decree was not implemented, it does not meanthat it is unconstitutional. The decree was simply ineffective, as the stateapparatus had not supported it. It was different when Sukarno issued thedecree on July 5, 1959. (Dian Novita)
