Page 131 - BUKU A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE IN INDONESIA

A CENTURY OF PARLIAMENTARY LIFE
IN INDONESIA

The government’s fate was significantly affect-
ed by the vote results in the elections held on
September 29, 1955. After the mandate hando-
ver from the Ali Sastroamidjojo I Cabinet to the
The pressure to government, on the recommendation of Vice

resign was not due President Moh. Hatta, Burhanuddin Harahap
from Masyumi was appointed as the new cabi-
to the cabinet’s lack net formator. Led by Masyumi, a new cabinet

of representation was formed with a grand coalition of 12 parties.

in the parliament, However, attempts to get the PNI into the new
Constituent governing coalition were unsuccessful. The Ma-
syumi-PNI conflict occurred because of prob-
Assembly, or DPR. lems with the cabinet composition. Masyumi

On the contrary, rejected the candidates proposed by the PNI to
Burhanuddin sit in the coalition cabinet. Differences of opinion
between the PNI and Masyumi in determining
Harahap’s the new government structure erased the hopes

appointment as Prime of many parties, including Hatta, for a strong go-
vernment.
Minister in 1955 was

a logical consequence Not even a month after the election, the public
exerted pressure on PM Burhanuddin Harahap’s
of the parliamentary government to resign. However, the pressure to

system. resign was not due to the cabinet’s lack of rep-
resentation in the parliament, Constituent As-
sembly, or DPR. On the contrary, Burhanuddin
Harahap’s appointment as Prime Minister in 1955
was a logical consequence of the parliamentary
system.

President Soekarno had authorized forming a new cabinet after Prime
Minister Ali Sastroamidjojo of the PNI gave up his mandate. After that, the
Burhanuddin Cabinet held elections which the Ali Cabinet programmed.
So, the Burhanuddin Cabinet would hand over its mandate without being
asked to resign after the election winner was known and ready to form a
new cabinet.

Hatta considered that the difficulty in forming a cabinet was due to too
many parties in parliament. Because of this, he once suggested finding a
way to streamline the parties.

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