ABRI must give up House seats, ex-general says<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): Former Army chief of staff Gen. (ret.) Rudini
\nsaid yesterday that the military should give up their seats in
\nthe House of Representatives, saying their presence in the
\nlegislature was constitutionally \"inappropriate.\"<\/p>\n
Speaking in an Army-sponsored seminar on the political role of
\nthe military, Rudini, who served as home minister between 1988
\nand 1993, said all seats in the House should be contested through
\ngeneral elections.<\/p>\n
The military, he argued, should carry out their political role
\nlargely through the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).<\/p>\n
\"So they should be given seats like other professional groups
\nsuch as the ulemas in the MPR,\" he said, adding. \"ABRI is also a
\nprofession.\"<\/p>\n
ABRI, which currently has 100 of the 500 seats in the House,
\nis scaling down its presence to 75 seats beginning next year. The
\nother 425 seats will be contested at the May general election by
\nGolkar, the dominant political group, the United Development
\nParty and the Indonesian Democratic Party.<\/p>\n
The seats were allocated to ABRI in the past on the ground
\nthat its members do not vote in general elections.<\/p>\n
The MPR, which elects the president and vice president and
\ndraws up the policy guidelines every five years, has 1,000
\nmembers, comprising the 500 House members and 500 people selected
\nfrom all walks of life.<\/p>\n
Rudini said the 1945 Constitution allows for the allocation of
\nseats to professional groups within the MPR. \"But seats in the
\nDPR should be decided by the people who exercise their (voting)
\nrights.\"<\/p>\n
Rudini was one of the speakers in a discussion on the
\n\"Actualization of Fighting Values and ABRI's Dual Function in
\nDefining ABRI's Socio-Political Role.\"<\/p>\n
The discussion was held at the Army Staff and Command College
\nand involved also Lt. Gen. (ret.) Harsudiono Hartas. The
\ncollege's chief, Maj. Gen. Yunus Yosfiah opened the meeting.<\/p>\n
Rudini highlighted current misunderstanding of ABRI's dual
\nfunction -- in security and in politics.<\/p>\n
The concept grew out of the prevailing circumstances of the
\nmid-1960s, which required army officers to fill civilian
\nadministrative positions.<\/p>\n
Rudini criticized the evolving perception that a certain
\nnumber of key civilian positions had to be given to the military.<\/p>\n
\"That's wrong, it shouldn't be so. Especially when you start
\nsaying that specific positions, such as regents, mayors and
\ngovernors should be given to ABRI,\" he said. (17\/mds)<\/p>",
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