'Civil servants should give up voting rights'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's six million civil servants should
\ngive up their right to vote in order to remain politically
\nneutral, former home affairs minister Rudini said yesterday.<\/p>\n
The civil service corps (Korpri) is not a mass organization,
\nbut the bureaucracy. It organizes elections, Rudini pointed out.<\/p>\n
\"May be it would be best if Korpri members do not join Golkar
\nor the two other political parties,\" the retired Army general
\ntold The Jakarta Post. \"Like members of the Armed Forces, Korpri
\nmembers should give up their voting rights. This is so that they
\nstay neutral and avoid the possibility of a conflict of interest
\nduring elections.\"<\/p>\n
The political alliance of civil servants has been heatedly
\ndebated over the past week. Even though the law recognizes civil
\nservants' freedom to choose any political party, Korpri insists
\nits members vote for the ruling political organization Golkar.<\/p>\n
Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M., Rudini's immediate
\nsuccessor, went as far as to propose that Korpri members who did
\nnot vote for Golkar resign.<\/p>\n
Minister\/State Secretary Moerdiono said that government
\nregulations, that guarantee public servants freedom to vote,
\nreign supreme over Korpri's statutes that compel members to vote
\nfor Golkar.<\/p>\n
Rudini recalled that during his term as home minister between
\n1988 and 1993, a post that made him the chief supervisor of all
\npolitical organizations, he received complaints from the leaders
\nof the minority political parties about the behavior of the
\nbureaucracy.<\/p>\n
They complained that very often government officials did not
\ndraw a line between their role as election organizers and voters,
\nRudini said.<\/p>\n
The United Development Party and the Indonesian Democratic
\nParty, the two minority parties that compete with Golkar, said
\nKorpri's support gives Golkar an unfair advantage.<\/p>\n
Rudini did not say if Korpri should be allocated seats in the
\nHouse of Representatives in return for giving up their right to
\nvote.<\/p>\n
Armed Forces members cannot vote under the current political
\nsystem but automatically get 100 of the House's 400 seats. A
\nrecent law will reduce the seat allocation to 75 after the 1997
\nelection.<\/p>\n
Rudini argued that, in accordance with the civil servants'
\noath of office, the loyalty of government workers should first
\nand foremost be to the elected government.<\/p>\n
However, he said he fully understood Korpri leaders'
\ninsistence that members vote for Golkar because the two
\norganizations share the same ideals and objectives.<\/p>\n
Golkar chairman Harmoko said on Thursday that six million of
\nthe Golkar's 35 million card-holding members are from Korpri.<\/p>\n
\"That's practical politics,\" Rudini said commenting on the
\nability of Golkar to recruit Korpri members. \"Don't blame it on
\nGolkar.\" (aks)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/civil-servants-should-give-up-voting-rights-1447893297",
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