Golkar's obstinacy<\/p>\n
It would be very wrong if the ruling Golkar grouping continued
\nto persist in defending its stance that civil servants can still
\nbecome members, including of the boards, of parties when the
\npeople demand that civil servants be truly capable of assuming a
\nneutral attitude in the general election scheduled for June 1999
\n(Kompas, Jan.5).<\/p>\n
The many violations in previous general elections during the
\nNew Order era have undoubtedly caused considerable trauma among
\nour people. During those past elections, Golkar made civil
\nservants into its tool to mobilize votes and assure its victory.<\/p>\n
Golkar's reasoning is that civil servants should be allowed to
\nremain as members of political parties to uphold human rights.
\nGenerally speaking, the reason is valid because all citizens,
\nincluding civil servants, have the same rights in the nation's
\nlife including the right to be board members of political
\nparties. However, the matter of civil servants must be seen as a
\nspecial case where human rights issues cannot be narrowly
\ninterpreted and used as a reason. We cannot compare the case of
\ncivil servants in our country with other countries like the U.S.
\nor Australia, where the order of political life and the
\nimplementation of democracy are in such an advanced stage so that
\npossible cheating in a general election linked to party
\nmembership is unlikely to happen.<\/p>\n
The June general election planned is, in my opinion, a
\nplatform where we will start to learn how to practice democracy
\nand politics in a better way. This year's election also has very
\nimportant value because it is seen as the starting point for us
\nto get out of the current hobbling crisis. The general election
\nmust be capable of producing people's representatives and a
\ngovernment that has strong legitimacy from the people. Any
\nindication of rigging in the general election will cause
\ndissatisfied groups to question the matter, and we will thus find
\nit difficult to end the crisis. I think we have no other choice
\nthan to limit to a minimum the possibility of rigging in the
\ngeneral election.<\/p>\n
With the background of problems, it irrelevant for Golkar to
\nbe obstinate in defending its wish that civil servants can still
\nbecome members of political parties. In my opinion the idea can
\nonly be implemented at a time when we are really mature in our
\npolitical life, and our democratic life is running well. At the
\npresent time what we need to do is to show to the people that we
\ncan implement democracy in the proper manner, one of the
\ncharacteristics of which is to carry out the general election in
\na truly honest and just way.<\/p>\n
EMELIUS MINSIN<\/p>\n
Pontianak, West Kalimantan<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/golkars-obstinacy-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }