Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asserted he had no intention to extend his tenure and would leave office in 2014.

Speaking at the People's Consultative Assembly on Wednesday, Yudhoyono said holding on to power for too long was prone to corruption. "I underline that I will end my term of office in 2014," he said.

Politicians from major political parties were also quick to reject a proposal for a constitutional amendment that would allow the President to extend his tenure beyond the existing maximum of two four-year terms, saying it was an attempt to snuff-out democracy.

The controversial idea was proposed Wednesday by Ruhut Sitompul, a legislator from the Democratic Party – the party founded by Yudhoyono. Ruhut said Indonesia was grappling with a leadership crisis, and that no other figures of authority, except the incumbent were fit to become the next head of state.

Politicians from other major parties, including the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and Golkar, said they found the idea "disturbing".

Legislator Trimedya Panjaitan from PDI-P told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that Ruhut was testing the water. "I already suspected the Democratic Party would eventually broach this subject, which, I think, is part of their political scenario, given the President's rhetorical ability to convince the public that everything is on track."

If implemented, the amendment would set a historical precedent and would have a high political cost, seriously upsetting students and activists who strove for democracy during the inception of the 1998 reform movement, Trimedya said.

Legislator Nudirman Munir from the PDI-P said the Democratic Party needed to stop revering President Yudhoyono as a demigod, adding that the Ruhut proposal would resurrect the "dictatorial majority" Soeharto ruled with in the New Order regime.

"If the Democratic Party doesn't have any potential presidential candidates for the next elections, they must allow for healthy competition to thrive in the political arena," Munir said.

Lawmaker Nasir Djamil from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) speculated that there could have been two scenarios underlying Ruhut's controversial idea.

"On the one hand, the Democratic Party or the President could have used Ruhut to [propose the idea to]judge people's opinions before taking further action," Nasir said.

On the other, the idea could have been proposed by a group of sycophants from the Democratic Party hoping to curry favor with the President, he said.

Meanwhile, in defense of the President, Anas Urbaningrum of the Democratic Party said Yudhoyono was only willing to serve for two terms. "He has never thought of staying in office for a third term," Anas said.

Ruhut, who is also a prominent lawyer, said he had proposed the idea as an individual, and had not done so on behalf of the President or the Democratic Party. "It was said with my deepest sincerity, out of my respect for the President," he said.

Political expert Adrianof Chanigo said the country needed to move on from a paradigm where leaders and figures were venerated.

"Also, political parties need to fix the way in which they exercise democracy internally, as many are still trapped in oligarchies," he said. (tsy)