2001 marked by moral decadence, analyst says<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A political analyst says that 2001 has been marked by
\nexcessive immoral practices on the part of politicians, ranging
\nfrom corruption, collusion and nepotism (KKN) to the abuse of
\npower.<\/p>\n
This phenomenon, which Hermawan Sulistyo of the Indonesian
\nInstitute of Sciences (LIPI) has labeled moral decadence, is
\nexpected to continue over the next few years or at least until
\nthe next general election in 2004.<\/p>\n
Hermawan said on Monday evening that, throughout this year,
\nmoney politics and other corrupt practices had become
\nincreasingly widespread in all three of the country's key
\npolitical institutions -- the legislature, the judiciary and the
\nexecutive.<\/p>\n
\"We can see a politician starting his career driving a Toyota
\nKijang van who has a Jaguar within just two years,\" he said when
\nspeaking about political trends during 2001.<\/p>\n
Hermawan said another political phenomenon in 2001 was the
\nexcessive abuse of power by nearly all politicians.<\/p>\n
If during Soeharto's repressive presidency many officials
\nmisused power merely for economic motives, top officials now
\nfrequently used their positions in the state apparatus to advance
\nthe interests of their political parties or to further their own
\npolitical careers, he said.<\/p>\n
He gave as examples actions taken by President Megawati
\nSoekarnoputri, Vice President Hamzah Haz, Minister of Defense
\nMatori Abdul Djalil and Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril
\nIhza Mahendra.<\/p>\n
According to Hermawan, after Hamzah was elected Vice President
\nhe devoted much more of his time to his duties as chairman of the
\nUnited Development Party (PPP) than he did to his vice
\npresidential duties.<\/p>\n
\"This can be seen from what he was doing when he made regional
\nvisits, where nearly 70 percent of his guests had a connection
\nwith political parties or at least with his own political party.\"<\/p>\n
Hermawan said Matori, Yusril and also Hamzah used their
\npositions in the state apparatus to strengthen their standing in
\ntheir political parties, which had been hit by internal
\nconflicts. \"If Yusril and Matori didn't hold cabinet positions, I
\nthink they would have lost their positions in their parties,\" he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Kusnanto Anggoro, a military analyst from the
\nCentre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), focused on
\nthe substantial role played by the military in politics
\nthroughout the year.<\/p>\n
As a clear example of this, he pointed to the military's
\nrejection of the imposition of a state of emergency declared by
\nthen president Abdurrahman Wahid in July as he fought to hold on
\nto power.<\/p>\n
\"Whatever the reason, it was strange that the military did not
\nabide by a policy decreed by the president, as the highest
\nmilitary commander,\" said Kusnanto at a year-end political and
\nmilitary review held by the Centre for Political Studies.<\/p>\n
But in general he admitted that demilitarization had proceeded
\nwell, particularly in the sense that the military now no longer
\nhad the \"veto\" rights it enjoyed during the New Order era. \"At
\nthat time we could not say no to the military, but now such veto
\nrights have been eliminated,\" Kusnanto said.<\/p>\n
He added that there were still several remnants of a military
\nrole in the socio-political realm. The first related to the
\nmilitary's territorial role, which still affects the political
\nmechanism in the regions, particularly in relation to elections
\nfor regents and governors.<\/p>\n
\"We still do not know when such a territorial function will be
\ntotally eliminated,\" said Kusnanto.<\/p>\n
The second is the military function, which is still
\nuntouchable and difficult to solve. On the one hand the military
\nfunction is still needed as long as the state doesn't provide the
\nmilitary with an adequate budget. On the other hand, its business
\nrole is no longer relevant, given the current reform process.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/2001-marked-by-moral-decadence-analyst-says-1447893297",
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