Hidayat Nur Wahid said the perppu has to be submitted to the House of Representatives (DPR) for discussion first before it is accepted or rejected.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The perppu (government regulation) to be issued by President Yudhoyono will not, by default, invalidate the regional election bill that was passed recently, a senior member of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) said here on Wednesday.

"We respect his (the presidents) intention to issue the regulation in lieu of law as it is, indeed, his constitutional right, but it would not mean that the regional election (pilkada) law will automatically be invalid," PKS member Hidayat Nur Wahid stated.

He added that the perppu has to be submitted to the House of Representatives (DPR) for discussion first before it is accepted or rejected.

The DPR passed the Pilkada Bill early on Friday (September 24) morning after a vote, which members of President Yudhoyonos Democratic Party did not participate in. Instead, they decided to walk out of the meeting stating their action was akin to a balancing approach.

President Yudhoyono had expressed his disappointment over the passage of the bill. He noted that it would change the current system of direct election of provincial governors, district heads and city mayors, reverting to the earlier, indirect system of leaders being elected by members of the legislative assembly (DPRD).

With this in mind, Yudhoyono planned to formulate a perppu to counteract the passage of the bill and preserve the current system of direct elections by the people.

President Yudhoyono and his party had been strongly criticized by many quarters on account of the passage of the bill, which had the full support of the Red and White coalition comprising the PKS, the Golkar Party, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).

Moreover, the rival Great Indonesia coalition, consisting of the Indonesia Democratic Party Struggle (PDIP), the National Democratic Party (Nasdem), the Nation Awakening Party (PKB) and the Peoples Conscience Party (Hanura), which supported the Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla duo, had rejected the passage of the bill.

"It is clear that the Red and White coalition forms a majority in the DPR with 291 members, while the Great Indonesia coalition has only 207 seats," Wahid pointed out.

He further noted that the urgency and vulnerability with which President Yudhoyono had taken the decision to issue the perppu would be difficult to accept as Indonesia has, so far, been a peaceful country.

"So let the president go ahead with his plan. Perhaps he wants to convey to the people that he supports their wish to retain the system of direct elections," he remarked.

Wahid also said that he believed issuing the perppu would not hurt the Red and White coalition in the parliament.

"The perppu will not hurt the Red and White coalition. Instead, it will make us even stronger as there are a lot of problems we need to deal with together," he explained.

By announcing his plans to issue the regulations, President Yudhoyono made it clear that his government and the Democratic Party shared the view of the people and supported the system of direct elections with some improvements.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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