Countdown begins to MPR sessions<\/p>\n
One month from today, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)
\nwill open its General Session in Jakarta, its members invested
\nwith the imposing task of charting the nation's course for the
\nnext five years. The media has been abuzz with speculation about
\nthe event, gnawing on questions of presidential and vice
\npresidential elections, and the drafting of the State Policy
\nGuidelines. Yet the public seems removed from this intense
\nanticipation. The Jakarta Post team Ahmad Junaidi, Arief
\nSuhardiman, Ati Nurbaiti, Benget Simbolon, Emmy Fitri, Kornelius
\nPurba and Riyadi seek out the meaning of the Assembly in this
\narticle, and related stories on Page 8.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): As the MPR working committees wound up meetings
\nlast week to finalize drafts of documents which the Assembly
\nwould endorse in March, a nagging question played on the minds of
\nmany onlookers.<\/p>\n
How effective would the general session be in solving the
\neconomic crisis?<\/p>\n
It is a valid query because, according to media coverage, the
\ncommittees virtually ignored issues related to the crisis in
\nfinalizing the March agenda.<\/p>\n
Such reports inevitably breed public skepticism and doubt.<\/p>\n
A senior high school teacher in nearby Tangerang characterized
\nthe MPR with brimming cynicism.<\/p>\n
\"Does the Assembly pay any attention to the misery people like
\nus have to face?\" asked 46-year-old Taher (not his real name).<\/p>\n
\"Will it seriously push the government to help the poor
\nweather this crisis?\"<\/p>\n
The instructor in Pancasila ideology said people had more
\npressing concerns to think about than the General Session.<\/p>\n
\"Like me, most people are much more interested in how the
\ngovernment intends to stem the rising prices of goods.\"<\/p>\n
The working committees have finalized the Guidelines of State
\nPolicy (GBHN), a blueprint for the government for the 1998\/2003
\nperiod, and a host of decrees.<\/p>\n
The latter includes one that would allow for utilization of
\nextraordinary presidential powers in times of crisis.<\/p>\n
Another item on the March agenda -- the election of the
\npresident -- is now almost a foregone conclusion.<\/p>\n
Soeharto, the incumbent President, accepted last month the
\nproposal by the powerful coalition of the military, bureaucracy
\nand Golkar to remain at the nation's helm for a seventh five-year
\nterm.<\/p>\n
With most issues settled even before the 1,000 MPR members
\ncheck in to their hotel rooms later this month, the general
\nsession will basically amount to a banging of gavels as the
\nparade of items is approved.<\/p>\n
The only pending issue is the election of a vice president, by
\nconvention a prerogative of the elected president. This could
\nprovide the lone highlight of the event.<\/p>\n
Like Taher, many members of the public are unconvinced by both
\nthe abilities of the MPR members and the function of the
\nAssembly.<\/p>\n
Few believe it is the democratically run institution set out
\nin the 1945 Constitution, Taher said.<\/p>\n
\"Many people know the sessions in the past were the results of
\npolitical engineering by the dominant factions,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Leo, an employee of a telecommunications consultancy company,
\nvoiced similar misgivings, but demanded that members \"should try
\nmuch harder\" in this time of crisis.<\/p>\n
Other members of the public merely wished for peaceful MPR
\nproceedings, fearing that any disturbance would lead to more
\nprice hikes.<\/p>\n
Business leaders are more aware of the importance of the MPR
\nsession, but their chief concern also lies with the economy.<\/p>\n
\"The candidate for the vice president should be capable, not
\nonly in maintaining stability and unity, but also in helping the
\npresident restore the economy to normalcy,\" said Iman Taufik, a
\nleading executive in the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and
\nTrade.<\/p>\n
Iman said the GBHN were too lofty. \"I fear they would meet the
\nsame fate as past GBHNs -- good on paper but poor in
\nimplementation.\"<\/p>\n
The final draft of the GBHN will center around the framework
\nprovided by Golkar.<\/p>\n
A call for public input for the discussion was ignored, an
\nexpert said, adding it was effectively dead on arrival due to
\npublic apathy.<\/p>\n
\"Apathy will increase if the MPR remains what it is,\" said
\nSurabaya-based sociologist Hotman Siahaan. \"Who would want to
\nparticipate? They know the President will be reelected, so they
\nfeel they have nothing more to add.\"<\/p>\n
Hotman said members of the public had fewer expectations of
\nthe Assembly and its representatives than of the government,
\nalthough at times they still distrusted the latter.<\/p>\n
The working committees, which began debating the drafts in
\nNovember, did face unusually strong calls from both inside and
\noutside the body than in the past.<\/p>\n
The minority United Development Party (PPP) and Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party (PDI) forged an alliance to push for electoral
\nreforms, as they had done in the past.<\/p>\n
But their efforts were virtually steamrolled by the powerful
\ncoalition of Golkar, the Armed Forces and the regional
\nrepresentatives factions.<\/p>\n
The assembly also confronted louder demands for political
\nreforms from the outside, including political scholars and
\nresearchers, students and leading public figures.<\/p>\n
Reformists argued that the economic crisis had turned into one
\nof confidence, and then into a political crisis, which could only
\nbe solved through sweeping political reform.<\/p>\n
In an unprecedented move, some even called for change in the
\nnational leadership.<\/p>\n
Golkar, while careful not to dismiss outright these
\nsentiments, insisted the dominant faction advocated gradual and
\npeaceful change.<\/p>\n
Political analyst Maswadi Rauf said the system made it
\nimpossible to expect much initiative for reform from the MPR
\nitself.<\/p>\n
\"Every time there is a call for change, it comes up against
\nrejection,\" Maswadi said.<\/p>\n
He agreed that MPR members should display greater sensitivity
\ntoward the aspirations of the people in order to bolster their
\ninterest in politics.<\/p>\n
\"They should be more sensitive if people are not to remain
\nindifferent,\" Maswadi said.<\/p>",
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