PDI and PPP should keep tabs on govt<\/p>\n
SEMARANG (JP): Although his recent proposal that opposition
\nparties be allowed in Indonesia has been dismissed by President
\nSoeharto, intellectual Nurcholish Madjid continues to insist that
\nthe nation needs some form of control over the executive branch
\nof bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
Nurcholish said yesterday that, whether or not the term
\n\"opposition\" is used, it is vital that there be forces that can
\nprovide checks and balances in Indonesian politics and, thereby,
\nbring about clean governance.<\/p>\n
\"This control (of the government) is urgent because the public
\nis increasingly demanding clean government, as has been conceded
\nby Minister of Defense and Security Edi Sudradjat,\" Nurcholish
\ntold a seminar organized by the Association of Indonesian Moslem
\nIntellectuals.<\/p>\n
Nurcholish sparked a national debate last week when he
\nsuggested, at a seminar in Jakarta, that the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party (PDI) and the United Development Party (PPP)
\nshould become opposition parties.<\/p>\n
Indonesian law does not permit political opposition.<\/p>\n
Nurcholish said that only if the two parties stood in a
\nposition of opposition to the ruling Golkar party would there be
\neffective control over the executive branch of government.<\/p>\n
President Soeharto, who has been in power for almost 30 years,
\nrejected the idea. The President pointed out that the notion of
\nopposition is inconsistent with the state ideology, Pancasila,
\nwhich prescribes consensus (musyawarah) through deliberation.<\/p>\n
Nurcholish said economic development has led to the emergence
\nof more and more educated people with greater political awareness
\nand that these people are now demanding greater democracy.<\/p>\n
\"Economic progress has brought with it demands for greater
\npolitical participation. My experience as a member of the
\nNational Commission on Human Rights has taught me that people are
\ndemanding more because they know their rights,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that people should have the courage to express their
\nideas about what they see as flaws in the way the state is
\nadministered.<\/p>\n
Because the system requires people to channel their
\naspirations through the three existing political organizations,
\nthe most logical choice is to strengthen the role the PDI and the
\nPPP, he said.<\/p>\n
\"So far the PDI and the PPP have not been able to do much to
\nrepresent the people's interests because they position themselves
\nas the bureaucracy's partners,\" he added.<\/p>\n
In response to the proposal last week, President Soeharto
\npointed to the bitter experience of the 1950s, when Indonesia
\nadopted liberal democracy and the political situation was chaotic
\nand cabinets shortlived. The concept of opposition, he concluded,
\nis not appropriate for Indonesian conditions.<\/p>\n
Nurcholish, a prominent Moslem intellectual, said that the
\nsuccess of any political system depended on the maturity of a
\ncountry's people. (har\/pan)<\/p>",
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