President said to be key to political change<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): A political observer has taken a grim view of
\nIndonesian politics, saying that any push for real changes is
\nfutile without the consent and cooperation of the presidential
\noffice.<\/p>\n
Debates at the House of Representatives on how to usher in
\nchanges are useless, according to M. Mahfud, the director of the
\npostgraduate program at the Indonesian Islamic University here.<\/p>\n
\"The solutions lie in how a person can convince the president
\nto allow changes,\" he said in a discussion on law and power on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
Given this fact, both the House and the People's Consultative
\nAssembly, which meets every five year to establish Broad
\nGuidelines of State Policies, are mere rubber stamps to
\nlegitimize the president's rulings, he charged.<\/p>\n
\"They are effective only if they have lobbying power in the
\npresidential office,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"It's quite a bitter pill to swallow. But this is the reality
\nof Indonesian politics,\" Mahfud said.<\/p>\n
Mahfud cited several reasons for the president's great power.<\/p>\n
The first is the president's position as the patron of Golkar,
\nwhich holds the majority of seats in the House.<\/p>\n
\"If the president says A then Golkar will also say A,\" Mahfud
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Second, the president is the commander-in-chief of the Armed
\nForces which, apart from playing its traditional defense role, is
\nalso a dominant player in the Indonesian political scene.<\/p>\n
Third, Mahfud argues, is that the president has control over
\nthe state budget.<\/p>\n
One way still available to society is for the community to
\nexert \"bottom-up\" pressure by rallying wide-scale mass support
\nfor change.<\/p>\n
According to Mahfud, a strong civil society formed by
\nalliances of various non-governmental organizations will help
\nnurture the demand for democratization among the people.<\/p>\n
Another speaker at the seminar, Mochsan, said a overly
\npowerful government could adversely affect society in general.<\/p>\n
\"Such an administration may result in the establishment of a
\ncomplicated bureaucracy, in arrogance, and a reduction of
\nindividual rights,\" said Mochsan, who teaches law at the Gadjah
\nMada University.<\/p>\n
The discussion was attended by some 700 people and also
\nfeatured legal experts Yusril Ihza Mahendra and Sri Sumantri.
\n(har\/mds)<\/p>",
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