NOBODY CAN FORCE SBY ABOUT TEAM'S RECOMMENDATIONS : OBSERVER

Yogyakarta, Nov 19 (ANTARA) - A political observer said on Thursday that no one could force President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) with regard to his decision on the Team of 8's recommendations.

Tunjung Sulaksono from private Muhammadiyah University here said "everybody including SBY knows that no one can force or dictate the president. So with his recent statement (do not force me to determine my steps on the recommendations) he only confirmed his power and authority."
He said the statement was a form of affirmation from SBY of his independence and power because his Democrat Party was the winner of the last legislative election and SBY was the winner of the largest number of votes in the last presidential race.

The SBY administration from 2009 to 2014, he said, would run almost without challengers. "Moreover, SBY has also embraced the opposition parties," the lecturer of administration science said.

He said the Team of 8 SBY had assigned to conduct verification of legal facts and processes of the controversial case of antigraft officials Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra M Hamzah, had already completed the task and submitted its report to SBY but no real action had so far been taken by the President.

He said SBY should have immediately taken real action with regard to the case.

"Actually the move to set up the team was a form of efforts to save SBY's image as president and to respond to public pressure," he said.

The formation of the team is an added value, he said. He said people could see it as a move to find a clue out of the complicated problem.

He said after the team submitted its report SBY only had two choices. namely to accept or reject it.

"Actually SBY has 'nothing to lose' whether he would accept it or not. It is not a problem for him but the public may have different impressions," he said.

He said people could consider it unproductive if the recommendations were rejected.

He said "President SBY should consider thoroughly all the consequences and political risks he will face before making a decision."
He said if the recommendations were not accommodated it was not impossible that the public would react and for him to face litigation. .***1***