Transitional Government Formation Should Wait for Right Time : President

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono explained that he understands the intention of President-elect Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to form a transitional government, however, the process should wait for the right time.

"Anyway, the intention and plan of Pak Jokowi is not wrong, however, it should wait for the right time. It is not right and is unethical when the Constitutional Court (MK) is still holding hearing sessions, and there is no decision yet, and I or my ministers, for instance, are requested to join in planning the transitional government," he stated in an interview posted on YouTube on Friday.

President Yudhoyono understood that challenges for the next president are not easy, and once the new president and vice president are sworn in and inaugurated for the 2014-2019 presidential term, they must immediately work to meet the public expectations.

A month after the presidential inauguration, the next president must be prepared for a series of important regional and international meetings such as the ASEAN and East Asia Summits, APEC, and G20 summits.

Yudhoyono noted that he and his cabinet ministers will be ready to support the process of forming the transitional government when the MK concludes the hearing sessions regarding presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto's complaints and confirms the winner of the presidential election, which was held on July 9, 2014.

"A month ago, I said if the president-elect asks me to help him in forming the next government to ensure sustainability, I will gladly accept it," he added.

He stated that every party must remain patient until the MK announces a decision.

In Jakarta, on August 6, 2014, Indonesia's MK opened a preliminary hearing on a dispute over the July 9 presidential election's results being challenged by a success team of presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto.

Hamdan Zoelva, the MK Chief, chaired the hearing, and was accompanied by other MK justices: Arief Hidayat, Patrialis Akbar, Maria Farida, Ahmad Fadlil Sumadi, Muhammad Alim, Anwar Usman, Aswanto, and Wahiduddin Adams.

The hearing was attended by Prabowo Subianto, his running mate Hatta Rajasa, and other prominent politicians such as Amien Rais, Aburizal Bakrie, Anis Matta, and Akbar Tanjung, whose parties are part of a coalition with Prabowo Subianto's Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party.

Also present during the hearing were Chairman of the General Elections Commission (KPU) Husni Kamil Manik, and its commissioners Hadar Nafis Gumay, Ida Budhiati, Juri Ardiantoro, Ferry Kurnia Rizkiyansyah, and Arief Budiman.

Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto filed complaints in the court last month, alleging structural, systematical, and massive frauds during the election process.

During the preliminary hearing, his lawyers claimed that millions of votes cast for the Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa pair were lost due to irregularities at more than 52 thousand polling stations. (WDY)