More comments pour in on Juwono's statement<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Government officials and observers joined
\nyesterday a growing chorus of opposition to a recent suggestion
\nthat people with military background were better able to lead the
\ncountry for at least another five years.<\/p>\n
State Minister of Public Housing Akbar Tandjung, State
\nMinister of National Development Planning Ginandjar Kartasasmita
\nand observers -- Ryaas Rasyid and Adnan Buyung Nasution --
\nseparately agreed that civilians had equal opportunity to be
\npresident as the Armed Forces (ABRI) personnel had.<\/p>\n
They were responding to a statement by Deputy Governor of the
\nNational Resilience Institute Juwono Sudarsono on Monday that at
\npresent only candidates with a military background had the
\ncapacity to become the president, at least until 2005.<\/p>\n
\"Both (the military and the civilians) are the sources for
\npotential national leadership,\" Akbar told reporters at his
\noffice yesterday.<\/p>\n
If given the opportunity, civilians would show they were as
\ncapable of handling the presidential tasks, he said.<\/p>\n
Ginandjar said he could not believe that there was no civilian
\nable to lead the country.<\/p>\n
\"Is it true that only the Armed Forces could produce national
\nleaders? Civilians, too, have been preparing themselves,\" he told
\nreporters after addressing a regional conference on poverty
\nalleviation program here yesterday.<\/p>\n
Ryaas said those that disregarded the capability of civilians
\nshowed that they were ignorant of the fact that Indonesia is not
\na military-ruled country.<\/p>\n
\"The 30-year-old New Order government is a civilian
\ngovernment, isn't it?\" he asked.<\/p>\n
Soerjadi, the chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party
\n(PDI), agreed that civilians should not be sidelined in the race
\nfor state leadership.<\/p>\n
\"Nationalism tells us not to discriminate one person from
\nanother simply because they were wearing different clothes.
\nEverybody has equal rights here, including to assume top
\npositions,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Adnan Buyung Nasution, who is a lawyer, also expressed opposition
\nto Juwono's statement, saying it disregarded the rights of the
\ncivilians.<\/p>\n
\"I deplore his statement,\" he said. \"When making statements,
\nan intellectual should not be influenced by his or her interest
\nand position.\"<\/p>\n
Akbar said there are many currently many civilians already
\nholding important positions and are eligible for the nation's top
\nposition. Akbar is a leading figure of the Eksponen 66 group of
\nformer student activists who in 1966 helped topple president
\nSukarno and pave the way for Soeharto to assume the state
\nleadership.<\/p>\n
Akbar admitted that on certain fields ABRI members were
\nsuperior and had better discipline, but it did not mean that
\ncivilians were not equally capable.<\/p>\n
\"Civilian candidates for presidency could come from anywhere,
\nthe mass organizations, political parties, non-governmental
\norganizations, academicians, and the bureaucracy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Ginandjar, a retired air force rear marshal,
\nrecounted how in the early years of independence, Indonesia
\npossessed quality national leaders with no military background.
\nHe named the late vice presidents Mohammad Hatta and Adam Malik
\nand the late prime minister Sutan Sjahrir.<\/p>\n
He said his civilian counterparts in the cabinet were
\nintellectually on par with those from the military background.<\/p>\n
Ryaas said those who underestimated the capability of the
\ncivilians showed that they did not believe in \"the system\", but
\nonly in individuals.<\/p>\n
\"It'll be very risky for us if we trust individuals better
\nthan the system,\" he said. He did not elaborate.<\/p>\n
Soerjadi, also a deputy House speaker, said whether or not a
\nperson deserve to be the president is determined by whether they
\nhad high moral standard, quality and discipline.<\/p>\n
\"We are now in need of leaders who are capable of eradicating
\ncorruption, regardless of their background,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Relinquishing the right to lead a country to a certain group
\nmeans that the Pancasila democracy is in decline.\"<\/p>\n
Adnan admitted the Armed Forces' dominant role, but said that
\nthe competition for the national leadership would be fair if the
\nArmed Forces members withdrew from their military service before
\nrunning for civilian posts.<\/p>\n
Yet another political observer, Din Syamsuddin, suggested the
\nestablishment of a forum which enabled civilian leaders and their
\nmilitary counterparts to reach a common vision on where the
\nnation is heading for.<\/p>\n
\"The forum will curb group sentiment and instead encourage
\ntolerance toward pluralism. In such a situation a leader who is
\naccepted by all people will be born,\" said Din, an activist of
\nthe Association of Indonesian Moslem Intellectuals (ICMI).<\/p>\n
He admitted, however, that the Armed Forces' better
\norganizational skills and discipline had led it to the pinnacle.
\n(imn\/rid\/amd\/har)<\/p>",
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