Soeharto hailed over stance on criticism<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto's reassurance that he is open
\nto criticism received an enthusiastic response from legislators
\nand observers alike yesterday.<\/p>\n
But legislators of the House of Representatives, a body often
\nsneered at as a rubber-stamp institution that lacks the courage
\nto criticize the government, refused to say if the President's
\nstatement would change their stature.<\/p>\n
Soeharto said in his inaugural speech that he needed support,
\ncriticism and supervision from the legislature in the future.<\/p>\n
\"I have fully and broad-mindedly listened to all subtle and
\nveiled or strong, blunt, criticisms... These criticisms
\nconstitute valuable inputs for the improvement of my government
\nin the coming years,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Legislator Ekky Syachruddin from the government-backed Golkar
\nfaction said that House members should see the President's
\nstatement as a chance to improve their supervisory duties.<\/p>\n
In his speech, Soeharto made it clear that he expected
\ncriticism \"from the House of Representatives\", whose members are
\nalso members of the 1,000-strong Assembly.<\/p>\n
He made no mention if he was also open to criticism from the
\npublic at large.<\/p>\n
\"Pak (Mr.) Harto's statement should also serve as criticism
\nfor House members who often fail to respond to people's wishes,\"
\nEkky said.<\/p>\n
Non-governmental organization activists complain the
\ngovernment is intolerant of criticism, as is obvious from the
\narrest and prosecution of numerous people critical of its
\npolicies.<\/p>\n
Buttu Hutapea, an Assembly member from the Indonesian
\nDemocratic Party (PDI), said that the President's statement was
\nnatural because Soeharto needed people's support.<\/p>\n
He said that legislators should not waste their chance and
\nimprove their supervision of the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
\"Polite criticisms would be more effective than blunt ones,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
H.J. Naro, a former United Development Party (PPP) chief who
\nattended the Assembly meetings as an observer, said that
\nSoeharto's promises would have far-reaching consequences.<\/p>\n
Standards<\/p>\n
The President, his cabinet ministers and all government
\nofficials should be tolerant of criticism and the House should
\nimprove its standards, he said.<\/p>\n
PPP leader Ismail Hasan Metareum praised Soeharto's pledge to
\nbe open to criticism, saying that it should apply in the policy-
\nmaking process of the incoming administration.<\/p>\n
He said the statement proved Soeharto was determined to be
\nmore open, particularly at a time when Indonesia was coping with
\nits toughest economic hardships of the last 30 years.<\/p>\n
\"As a party chairman I fully support all the Assembly's
\ndecisions and suggest he (Soeharto) sets all doubts aside when
\ntaking steps,\" Ismail said.<\/p>\n
The head of the Supreme Advisory Council, Sudomo, highlighted
\nthe need to beef up the House's control of the government.<\/p>\n
\"The House should make use of its constitutional rights to
\ncheck the government, although the legislative body cannot take
\nany punitive measures against the government,\" Sudomo said.<\/p>\n
Sudomo said that the rights allowed the House to maintain the
\ngovernment's allegiance to the State Policy Guidelines, push for
\nefficient government programs and take corrective measures
\nagainst the executive branch.<\/p>\n
Constitutional law expert Yusril Ihza Mahendra and political
\nscientist Sofian Effendi echoed Sudomo's view of further
\nempowering the legislative body.<\/p>\n
\"The House's criticism will prevent the government from making
\nrepeated mistakes and furthermore contribute to the government's
\npolicy formulation,\" Sofian said.<\/p>\n
Sofian said there were many government policies that did not
\nfit with the public's expectations due to the lack of open
\ncriticism, including the decision to launch a liberal banking
\nsystem in the late 1980s.<\/p>\n
\"The government is now paying dearly for its liberalization of
\nthe banking sector,\" he said, referring to the government's
\ndecision to shut down 16 banks last year and apply further strict
\nmonetary policies.<\/p>\n
Yusril said the House needed the courage to exercise its
\ncontrolling power, mainly because it had confined itself in the
\npast with restrictive internal rules.<\/p>\n
\"People now want to see a more powerful House to make amends
\nfor the economic adversity they are suffering. If there are no
\nimprovements in either political or economic fields, the people
\nwill be left hopeless,\" said Yusril, a lecturer at the University
\nof Indonesia. (team)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/soeharto-hailed-over-stance-on-criticism-1447893297",
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