'Employees may vote for any party'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Government employees are free to vote according
\nto their personal choice in general elections, Minister\/State
\nSecretary Moerdiono said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Moerdiono said government regulation No. 20\/1976, which allows
\ncivil servants to join any of the three political organizations,
\nimplies that civil servants do not have to vote for Golkar in
\ngeneral elections.<\/p>\n
He conceded that the Civil Service Corps (Korpri), to which
\nall government employees are obliged to belong, reaffirmed its
\nsupport for the ruling political group at its last congress and
\nexpected its members to vote accordingly. However, he suggested
\nthat the Korpri position was not binding on its members.<\/p>\n
\"In my opinion, the government regulation is higher than the
\ncongress of an organization,\" he said, speaking to journalists
\nafter attending a hearing with the Commission II of the House of
\nRepresentatives.<\/p>\n
There has been confusion in the past week about the issue,
\nwith senior officials making conflicting statements on whether or
\nnot civil servants can vote according to their conscience.<\/p>\n
Korpri Secretary General Waskito Reksosoedirdjo said last week
\nthat any member of the organization who did not vote for Golkar
\nshould resign from their post.<\/p>\n
Waskito defended his position by underlining that only Golkar,
\namong the three political organizations contesting the elections,
\nshared the same ideals and objectives of national stability and
\ndevelopment as Korpri.<\/p>\n
Regulation<\/p>\n
Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. has expressed the
\nsame view, while acknowledging that there is no regulation
\nrequiring government employees to vote for the ruling political
\ngroup.<\/p>\n
The two minority parties, the Indonesian Democratic Party
\n(PDI) and the United Development Party (PPP), have long
\ncomplained about the way that the government has compelled its
\nemployees to vote for Golkar only.<\/p>\n
PDI chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri said on Saturday that
\ncivil servants are not special citizens. \"They share similar
\nrights and responsibilities as other citizens, and these are
\nregulated by the 1945 Constitution,\" she said in Palu, Central
\nSulawesi.<\/p>\n
Megawati said those who still have doubts about the issue
\nshould refer to the text of the constitution, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
Aisyah Amini of the PPP yesterday questioned the way in which
\nthe government has prevented its employees from joining other
\npolitical organizations. \"Is this what we mean by 'Pancasila
\ndemocracy?'\" she asked.<\/p>\n
Moerdiono said that Article 2 of the 1976 regulation states
\nthat a government employee in a key position must have the
\npermission of his or her superior before joining a political
\norganization. Those who do not hold important positions are
\nsimply required to inform their superiors.<\/p>\n
\"The regulation treats government employees not only as state
\nfunctionaries but also as citizens,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Commitment<\/p>\n
Separately, Yogie yesterday insisted that while the regulation
\nguarantees freedom to vote at elections, Korpri members are
\nexpected to abide by the commitment of their organization.<\/p>\n
\"Government employees are automatically Korpri's members, who
\nhave to follow the corps' regulation,\" he told reporters after
\nopening a four-day conference entitled \"The Role of Local
\nGovernments in Implementing the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
\nDeclaration,\" held by the Asia-Pacific Section of the
\nInternational Union of Local Authorities (IULA).<\/p>\n
Those who oppose the organization's commitment should raise
\ntheir view at Korpri's next congress, Yogie said.<\/p>\n
An article of Korpri's statutes states that members cannot
\n\"bring the aspirations or become members of socio-political
\norganizations that are opposed to or not in conformity with the
\nobjectives, character, identity and struggle of Korpri.\"<\/p>\n
Korpri, with more than six million members, has worked with
\nGolkar's election machinery in past elections, sending its
\nmembers to Golkar election rallies nationwide.<\/p>\n
Korpri is also one of the three main components of the Golkar
\nleadership. The other two are the Armed Forces and mass
\norganizations. (imn\/yns\/swe)<\/p>",
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