Democracy and accountability<\/p>\n
By Afan Gaffar<\/p>\n
------------------------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
In recent weeks mounting public pressure has built up around
\ntwo top government officials,who are being urged to resign.
\nPolitical scientist Afan Gaffar argues that the public has the
\nright to know what their leaders are doing.
\n--------------------------------------------------------------------<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): There has been no economic or political issue
\nwithin the last decade greater than the Bapindo Affair. A Chinese
\nIndonesian businessmen by the name of Eddy Tansil, who in fact
\ndid not have a good financial reputation, with the support of two
\nprominent figures, Admiral (ret) Sudomo and Prof. Sumarlin,
\neasily took US$ 650 million from a state bank, Bapindo, without
\nan adequate guarantee of its return.<\/p>\n
Some of the money was used to finance a petro-chemical plant
\nin West Java and the rest was transferred into Eddy Tansil's bank
\naccounts, either in Hong Kong or in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The political implications of this scandal are clear. First of
\nall, everybody in Indonesia is at present talking about the
\nefforts necessary to establish a "clean government" so that
\ncorruption in the bureaucracy can be reduced.<\/p>\n
Harmoko, minister of information and chairman of Golkar, the
\nstate-backed political body, revealed that one of the principal
\nplatforms of Golkar is the "clean government" issue. The
\nCommander of the Armed Forces, Gen. Feisal Tanjung, also has
\nindicated clearly that he will fully support any effort to create
\nan honest government.<\/p>\n
The second political implication is that the political
\ncommunity in Indonesia firmly believes that collusion between
\nbureaucrats and members of the business community is not a myth
\nbut a reality. Consequently, the community will be quick to point
\na finger at bureaucrats and businessmen at any hint of it. The
\ntrust in the state bureaucracy is at its lowest point ever at
\nthis moment.<\/p>\n
Although Sudomo has denied several times that he took any
\nadvantage of the financial affairs between Eddy Tansil's Golden
\nKey Group (GKG) and Bapindo, nobody in this country will believe
\nhim. The political and economic community firmly believes that
\nwithout the strong pressure from Sudomo -- he wrote several
\nletters of reference in GKG's favor and personally guaranteed
\nthat Eddy Tanzil was a loyal and good citizen -- the chief
\nexecutive officer of Bapindo would not have had the courage to
\nprovide such a huge amount of credit. And even though Sumarlin
\ndid not write any letters of reference, he did make several
\ntelephone calls to put pressure on the chief executive officer of
\nBapindo, so that the latter had to provide the necessary funding.<\/p>\n
Almost every day, members of the political community in this
\ncountry have been asking Sudomo and Sumarlin to resign. Students
\nhave demonstrated in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Jember and
\nother big cities, demanding that Sudomo resign from his present
\npost as chairman of the Supreme Advisory Board. Several
\nlegislators, such as Sri Bintang Pamungkas, have demanded the
\nsame.<\/p>\n
The genius of democracy is that it requires political
\naccountability. Within this framework, the political community
\nhas the right to ask the government to make a clear explanation
\nof certain policies. Why, for instance, has the government so
\neasily provided loans for members of certain ethnic groups as
\ncompared to the process faced by others, and why does the
\ngovernment intend to put money in a nuclear power project instead
\nof opting for hydro-power projects as a source of energy? People
\nare demanding an explanation.<\/p>\n
Accountability involves public figures such as Sudomo and
\nSumarlin. Since people put trust in their leaders to represent
\ntheir interests and to handle daily public affairs, the public
\nalso has the right to know what their leaders do, where they go
\nand with whom. Within the democratic framework, prominent public
\nfigures must be prepared and be available for public scrutiny.<\/p>\n
As a matter of fact, this kind of scrutiny is
\nhappening now with our government, our public figures and our
\npublic institutions, such as the owned-state bank Bapindo, even
\nthough some people condemn it as being part of a liberal
\nframework, unsuitable for our Pancasila Democracy.<\/p>\n
It is sad to read or watch the daily news about Sudomo and
\nSumarlin. Sudomo was one of the most powerful figures in the
\nearly 1980s as the chief of staff of the Kopkamtib national
\nsecurity agency. According to the late Gen. (ret) Yassin, Sudomo
\nonce even planned to put several prominent leaders of the Petisi
\n50 group on Buru Island, a place that was once considered
\nsuitable only for banished communists. Sumarlin played a dominant
\nrole in the reconstruction of our economy. It is sad to see that
\nthey have to end their political and bureaucratic careers in such
\na way.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/democracy-and-accountability-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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