After reshuffle, Armed Forces lose best speakers in House<\/p>\n
By Pandaya<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The powerful Armed Forces (ABRI) lost its best
\nspeakers, Maj. Gen. Raja Kami Sembiring Meliala and Maj. Gen.
\nSamsudin, when it withdrew 18 of its 100 appointees at the House
\nof Representatives yesterday.<\/p>\n
The two men have played a major role in not only improving the
\nimage of the House, which has been besmirched as a rubber stamp
\ninstitution, but also in proving that ABRI, too, can become
\na democratic force.<\/p>\n
They were among a handful army officers in the House who
\nchampioned a more open political climate.<\/p>\n
Together with Brig. Gen. Rukmini Koesoemoastoeti Soedjono and
\nMaj. Gen. Syaiful Sulun, both removed in 1992, ABRI had an
\noutspoken quartet who pioneered the democratization process from
\ntheir seats in the House.<\/p>\n
From the first days of their service in 1987, they barraged
\ngovernment officials with embarrassing questions on subjects
\nranging from the eviction of the poor to make way for development
\nprojects and the lack of service given by the bureaucracy to tax
\npayers.<\/p>\n
The legislators will be remembered as army officers who dared
\nto express opinions which were not always in line with ABRI's
\nofficial views.<\/p>\n
Sembiring, a former Cendrawasih Military commander overseeing
\nsecurity in Maluku and Irian Jaya, was a voice for the poor
\ndisplaced from their homes to make way for development projects.<\/p>\n
His dismissal from the legislative body comes six months after
\nhe made critical remarks about the appointment of the first
\ncivilian, Harmoko, to the top spot of the government's Golkar
\npolitical grouping.<\/p>\n
Soeharto's choice of Harmoko was widely interpreted as a sign
\nthat the guard is changing in Indonesian politics and that more
\ncivilians will follow the Information Minister into areas once
\nconsidered the provenance of the military.<\/p>\n
Sembiring's reaction was a swift defense of ABRI's central
\nrole, saying that no one could become president without a
\nmilitary background.<\/p>\n
As for Samsudin, he was transferred from his post as chairman
\nof House Commission II overseeing domestic political affairs to
\ncommission VII on banking and industry, where his voice is rarely
\nheard.<\/p>\n
Roekmini, who retired from active service in ABRI, is more
\npopular among seminar attendants, where she is almost always a
\nstar speaker. And she has remained ABRI's faithful salesperson,
\ndefending the military's dual function.<\/p>\n
She is also a member of the National Commission on Human
\nRights, which came to life last year.<\/p>\n
Syaiful Sulun has practically stepped out of the political
\narena, making no public appearances since losing his legislative
\nseat in 1992.<\/p>\n
He stung the bureaucracy and stunned the public when during a
\nnationally televised interview he complained that press criticism
\nshould be directed more at the executive than the legislative
\nbody.<\/p>\n
Observers believe his unforgivable sin was his daring move to
\ntalk with the Petisi 50, a loose organization of former
\ngovernment and military officials that is harshly critical of the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Dual function<\/p>\n
The past two years have been difficult for the military, with
\ntheir \"dual function\" in both security and politics coming under
\nintense scrutiny.<\/p>\n
As critics have increasingly questioned its relevance,
\ngovernment and military officials as well as political party
\nleaders have been just as busy defending it.<\/p>\n
They question the privilege because it is unclear who they
\nrepresent.<\/p>\n
\"People criticize (the dual function) because they don't care
\nto study the nation's struggle, especially the history of ABRI,\"
\nPresident Soeharto said last August, two weeks before the
\nincumbent House members were sworn in.<\/p>\n
One hundred of the 500 seats in the House are reserved for the
\nmilitary in recognition of its role as the \"stabilizing and
\ndynamizing\" force in the Indonesian politics forged by political
\nleaders in the 1960s.<\/p>\n
The remaining 400 seats are contested by the three sanctioned
\npolitical organizations, the government-backed Golkar, the
\nIndonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and the United Development
\nParty (PPP) through the general election.<\/p>\n
The number of seats granted to the military has been at the
\ncenter of debate. Outspoken politician Sri Bintang Pamungkas of
\nthe PPP has argued that while he agrees that ABRI deserves a
\nplace in the House, the number of seats should be reduced.<\/p>",
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